THE 

UNITED 
STATES 

NAVY 


HENRY  WILLIAMS 


18001 


Engineer  School 


citt«359»09(73) 


THE 
UNITED  STATES  NAVY 


A  HANDBOOK 


BY 


HENRY   WILLIAMS 

••• 

NAVAL  CONSTRUCTOR,   U.  8.  NAVY 


Illustrated  from  Photographs 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 
1911 


COPTRIGHT,  1911, 
BT 

HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


Published  October,  1911 


THE    OUINN    *    BODFH    CO.  PRESS 
RAHWAY,    N.   J. 


PREFACE 

IN  the  course  of  the  author's  tour  of  duty 
in  the  Navy  Department,  he  was  called  on  fre- 
quently to  prepare  answers  to  letters  request- 
ing information  about  the  Navy.  These  letters 
came  from  all  parts  and  all  classes.  The  wide- 
spread interest  indicated  in  this  manner,  coupled 
with  the  absence  of  a  book  of  general  informa- 
tion regarding  the  Navy  designed  for  general 
reading,  induced  him  to  undertake  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  book.  It  is  intended  primarily  for 
the  information  of  persons  having  some  interest 
in  naval  affairs  but  it  is  not  technical.  Only 
subjects  of  possible  general  interest  have  been 
discussed,  and  those  only  so  far  as  they  seemed 
t^  to  supply  interest. 

*A        There  is  at  all  times  a  demand  on  the  press 
\     for  news  of  the  Navy's  doings.    The  author  fre- 
7-    quently  has  had  the  privilege  of  furnishing  in- 
formation and  data  to  newspapermen  for  use 
^  in  their  paragraphs  and  has  in  this  way  also 
felt  the  need  for  a  simple  manual  or  handbook 
^     on  the  Navy. 

^•N       Another  inducement  for  the  preparation  of 
Jg    the  book  was  the  fact  that  the  Navy's  enlisted 

iii 


iv  PREFACE 

men  are  drawn  almost  entirely  from  inland 
states;  many  of  them  previous  to  their  enlist- 
ment never  saw  the  ocean.  The  friends  and 
relatives  of  these  men  have  had  no  ready  means 
of  satisfying  a  natural  desire  to  be  informed 
as  to  the  Navy. 

H.W. 

OCTOBEB,  1911 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  NAVAL  HISTORY 1 

II.  THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION      ...       20 

III.  THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  ...       50 

IV.  MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION   .        .        .81 
V.  CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY      .         .115 

VI.     DESCRIPTION 147 

VII.     HIGH   EXPLOSIVES;    MINES;  TORPEDOES; 

AEROPLANES 187 

VIII.     DESIGNING  AND   BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  ; 

DRY  DOCKS 202 

IX.     THE  NATIONAL  DEFENSE          .        .         .217 
INDEX  223 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  chase  of  the  Constitution  by  an  English  squadron 
in  the  War  of  1812.  Due  to  a  calm  the  ships  were 
towed  by  their  small  boats.  (From  an  old  paint- 
ing   Frontispiece 

The  protected  cruiser  Atlanta,  built  in  1888,  one  of  the 

first  vessels  in  the  "  New  Navy  " 14 

The   converted  yacht   Mayflower,   purchased   during   the 

Spanish  War  and  now  used  as  the  President's  yacht  .       20 
Naval  Coaling  Plant,  Navy  Yard,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.     In- 
tended for  storage  of  coal  and  for  its  delivery  to  naval 

vessels 48 

The  sailing  ship  Severn,  used  formerly  as  a  practice  ship 

for  midshipmen 54 

The  gun-boat  Don  Juan  de  Austria,  captured  from  the 
Spaniards  at  Manila  Bay.  Now  in  use  by  the  Michigan 

Naval  Militia 80 

The  gun-boat  Yorktown 80 

The  Atlantic  Battleship  Fleet  under  way  in  column,  the 

flagship   Connecticut   leading 88 

The  battleship  Kansas        94 

Collar  devices  on  service  coat  of  officers,  showing  rank 

and  corps 100 

Specialty  marks  on  rating  badges 102 

Rating  badges  for  petty  officers 104 

The  Hartford,  built  in  1858,  flagship  of  Admiral  Farragut 

at  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay 108 

The  battleship  Massachusetts,  sister  ship  of  the  Oregon, 

and  one  of  the  first  American  battleships   .      ...     114 
The  Civil  War  monitor  Canonicus,  one  of  a  number  built 

after  the  success  of  the  Monitor  against  the  Merrimao  .     118 
Monitor  Amphitrite,  commenced  in  1874,  finished  in  1895     118 

The  torpedo-boat  destroyer  Preston 120 

The  submarine  Narwhal  cruising  on  the  surface  .      .     .     122 

vii 


viii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Battleship  Texas,  used  recently  as  a  target  in  gunnery 

experiments 124 

The  battleship  South  Carolina,  the  first  American  "  all- 
big-gun  battleship" 128 

Armored  cruiser  Brooklyn,  flagship  of  Commodore  Schley 

during  the  Spanish  War 130 

Armored  cruiser  New  York,  flagship  of  Rear-Admiral 

Sampson  during  the  Spanish  War 130 

The  British  armored  cruiser  Inflexible  in  North  River, 

New  York,  during  Hudson-Fulton  celebration  in  1909  .  132 
Protected  cruiser  New  Orleans,  purchased  from  the 

Brazilian  government  just  prior  to  the  Spanish  War  .  136 

U.  S.  naval  collier  Vestal 144 

Modern  14-inch  naval  breech-loading  rifle 150 

The  battleship  Delaware,  said  to  be  the  most  powerful 

"all-big-gun  battleship" 152 

A  smooth-bore  42-pounder  cannon  of  1780 154 

The  explosion,  eight  feet  under  water,  of  a  naval  defense 

mine  containing  161  Ibs.  of  wet  gun  cotton  ....  188 

The  battleship  Georgia 192 

The  battleship  Idaho 196 

The  Naval  Experimental  Model  Basin  at  Washington  .  .  202 
Hoisting  a  12-inch  gun  on  board  the  Louisiana  .  .  .  204 
The  cruiser  North  Carolina  just  before  launching  .  .  208 
The  battleship  Oregon  in  the  Puget  Sound  graving  dry 

dock ; 212 

The  battleship  Illinois  in  the  New  Orleans  floating  dry 

dock i  •    .     *     .      .      .     212 

DIAGRAMS 

Sketches  of  arrangement  of  battery,  showing  the  essential 
differences  between  the  "all-big-gun  battleship"  and  the 

earlier   type   with   mixed   batteries 153 

Longitudinal  section  of  a  12-inch  gun 155 

Cross-sections  of  projectiles 183 

Sketch  of  fuse 186 

Floating  electric  contact  mine 189 

Arrangement  of  torpedo 194 


THE  UNITED  STATES   NAVY 


CHAPTER  I 
NAVAL  HISTORY 

THE  foundation  of  the  United  States  Navy 
was  laid  when,  in  1775,  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  the  Continental  Congress  author- 
ized the  building  of  thirteen  war  vessels,  and 
thus  established  the  Continental  Navy,  with  a 
roster  of  officers,  Captain  Esek  Hopkins  being 
Commander-in-Chief.  One  of  the  lieutenants 
was  John  Paul  Jones,  who,  becoming  a  captain 
shortly  after,  did  more  than  any  other  one 
person  in  organizing  the  young  Navy  and  plac- 
ing it  on  a  recognized  basis. 

It  was  necessary  to  pattern  the  new  naval 
organization  after  that  of  England;  customs, 
regulations,  and  traditions  taken  in  this  way 
from  the  English  are  still  retained  in  the 
United  States  Navy.  Due  largely  to  the  abil- 
ities and  courage  of  Captain  Jones,  the  Conti- 


2  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

nental  Navy  soon  rose  superior  to  the  English 
Navy  in  point  of  efficiency,  seamanship,  and  gun- 
nery. Jones  demonstrated  the  possibility  of 
vanquishing  in  equal  combat  an  English  man-of- 
war,  a  feat  that  had  been  regarded  as  impos- 
sible. When,  on  several  occasions,  the  most 
notable  of  which  was  the  victory  of  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard  over  the  Serapis,  he  gained 
victories  over  English  ships  of  equal  or  su- 
perior force,  the  American  Navy  won  its  spurs, 
and  from  thenceforth  the  world  was  destined 
to  recognize  the  new  nation  as  a  factor  on  the 
seas. 

Besides  the  engagements  of  Captain  Jones, 
and  a  few  others,  the  activities  of  the  Conti- 
nental Navy  consisted  largely  in  preying  on  the 
English  merchant  ships.  Similar  feats  and  re- 
sults, no  less  important,  were  achieved  by  ves- 
sels armed  by  the  individual  States  or  Colonies, 
and  by  the  many  privateers,  authorized  by  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  sent  out  by  private 
enterprise.  It  has  been  stated  on  good  author- 
ity that  more  men  fought  for  their  country's 


NAVAL  HISTORY  3 

liberty  on  the  sea  than  on  the  land,  and  the 
results  achieved  are  considered  by  many  to 
equal,  if  not  surpass,  in  importance  those  of  the 
land  forces  under  General  Washington. 

The  naval  war  was  carried  by  Jones  and 
others  into  the  enemy's  home  waters,  and,  for 
the  first  time  in  history,  merchant  ships  plying 
between  England  and  Ireland  required  a  naval 
convoy  for  their  protection  from  Yankee  pri- 
vateers. 

Another  important  feature  of  the  naval  activ- 
ities of  the  Colonies  was  the  capture  of  British 
seamen,  of  whom  no  less  than  16,000  were 
made  prisoners  on  the  high  seas  during  the 
Revolution  by  American  war  craft.  These  sea- 
men could  not  be  replaced  by  the  English,  as 
could  the  mercenaries  who  fought  their  battles 
on  land,  and  consequently  their  loss  was  felt 
more  seriously.  Added  to  the  enormous  losses 
inflicted  on  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain, 
these  conditions  contributed  in  no  small  meas- 
ure to  the  willingness  of  the  English  to  make 
peace.  In  all  over  eight  hundred  British  ves- 


4      THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

sels  of  all  kinds  were  captured  by  the  Amer- 
ican sea  forces  during  the  Kevolutionary  War. 

At  the  close  of  the  Kevolutionary  War  other 
matters  more  pressing  than  the  maintenance  of 
a  Navy  absorbed  the*  attention  of  the  States, 
and  for  many  years  even  after  the  ' '  more  per- 
fect Union  "  had  been  formed,  it  was  too  poor 
to  afford  a  Navy.  The  tendency,  now  observ- 
able, to  neglect  in  time  of  peace  to  prepare  for 
war,  existed  more  strongly  then.  All  the  war- 
ships of  the  Continental  government  were  sold, 
and  for  several  years  there  was  no  national 
Navy,  though  many  of  the  States  had  armed 
ships  to  protect  their  ports  and  to  convoy  their 
merchantmen. 

During  the  general  European  War  conse- 
quent on  the  French  Kevolution,  the  commerce 
of  the  United  States  grew  very  rapidly,  and  in 
almost  every  European  port  there  was  at  least 
one  trim  clipper  bearing  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
of  the  new  nation.  Piracy,  privateering,  and 
lawlessness  on  the  ocean,  and  the  outrages  of 
the  Barbary  pirates  in  the  Mediterranean,  how- 


NAVAL  HISTORY  5 

ever,  soon  brought  the  country  to  realize  the 
necessity  for  a  war  Navy.  In  1794  Congress,  no 
longer  able  to  overlook  the  conditions,  after 
listening  to  a  message  from  President  Wash- 
ington, detailing  the  depredations  of  the  Al- 
gerians, passed  an  act  authorizing  the  construc- 
tion of  six  frigates.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  present  Navy  and,  though  so  many  years 
have  elapsed,  two  of  the  ships  built  then,  the 
Constellation  and  the  Constitution,  still  are 
afloat.  Officers  were  chosen  and  an  organiza- 
tion established  based  in  large  measure  on  that 
existing  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  many 
of  the  officers  being  the  same. 

The  ships  designed  at  this  time  were,  as  was 
proved  frequently  in  battle,  the  superiors  in 
speed, manoeuver ing,  and  offensive  power  to  sim- 
ilar vessels  of  their  day.  American  naval  con- 
structors, even  in  those  early  days,  aimed 
at  a  higher  standard  of  warships  than  their 
foreign  contemporaries.  England,  in  self- 
defense,  was  forced  later  to  build  frigates 
on  the  same  plans,  and  in  this  respect  also 


6      THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

history  has  repeated  itself  to  the  present 
day. 

Before  the  completion  of  these  vessels  peace 
was  concluded  with  the  Barbary  nations,  so 
that  three  only  of  the  six  vessels  were  finished 
and  the  materials  for  the  other  three  were  sold. 
This  peace  involved  the  payment  of  consider- 
able sums  of  money  and  annual  tributes  to  the 
pirates.  Had  the  money  so  paid  been  devoted 
to  defense  rather  than  to  tribute,  a  Navy  that 
could  have  annihilated  the  pirates  might  have 
been  equipped. 

President  Washington,  in  a  speech  before 
both  houses  of  Congress  in  1796,  said :  *  *  To  an 
active,  external  commerce  the  protection  of  a 
naval  force  is  indispensable.  To  secure  respect 
to  a  neutral  flag  requires  a  naval  force  organ- 
ized and  ready  to  vindicate  it  from  insult  and 
aggression.'* 

In  1797  the  depredations  of  the  French  men- 
of-war  and  privateers  became  unbearable,  so 
much  so  that  in  spite  of  the  disinclination  of 
many  Americans  to  make  war  against  their 


NAVAL  HISTORY  7 

former  allies,  orders  were  issued  by  Congress 
to  United  States  war  vessels  to  capture  French 
cruisers  wherever  found.  Though  there  was 
at  no  time  a  formal  declaration  of  war  against 
France,  the  record  of  eighty-four  French  armed 
vessels  captured,  besides  many  American  ves- 
sels recaptured,  shows  that  the  young  Navy  was 
emulating  the  example  set  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War. 

No  sooner  had  the  French  obtained  peace  than 
there  was  found  work  for  the  Navy  in  the 
Mediterranean;  the  Barbary  pirates,  to  whom 
tribute  had  been  paid,  grew  in  rapaciousness, 
demanding  more  and  more.  Accordingly  it  was 
decided  in  1802  to  send  a  squadron  to  bring 
them  to  terms,  and  operations  were  carried  on 
against  the  various  Barbary  nations  until  1805, 
when  peace  was  signed. 

Experience  gained  in  the  various  engage- 
ments against  the  French  and  Algerians  was 
destined  to  stand  the  American  officers  and  men 
in  good  stead,  for  the  United  States  soon  de- 
clared war  against  the  most  powerful  nation  in 


8     THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

the  world,  which  then  was  flushed  with  numer- 
ous victories  over  the  other  nations,  and  had 
on  its  navy  list  more  than  1,000  men-of-war,  of 
them  250  ships-of-the-line.  Small  wonder  was 
it  that  the  English,  with  memories  of  long  years 
of  conflict  and  of  practically  undisputed  su- 
premacy on  the  ocean,  laughed  at  the  idea  of  the 
Americans  giving  battle  to  their  unconquered 
and,  as  they  thought,  unconquerable  ships. 
Men  and  not  ships  carried  the  day  for  the 
Americans,  superior  marksmanship  determin- 
ing the  result  of  many  engagements.  The  war 
was  decided  on  the  sea,  as  the  armies  of  the 
United  States  almost  invariably  suffered  defeat. 
The  activities  of  the  ships  of  the  Navy  and  of 
the  various  privateers  resulted  nearly  in  driv- 
ing English  commerce  from  the  sea. 

Commenting  on  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  which 
ended  the  war,  the  London  Times  of  December 
30,  1814,  wrote :  ' '  We  have  retired  from  the 
combat  with  the  stripes  yet  bleeding  on  our 
backs.  Even  yet,  however,  if  we  could  but 
close  the  war  with  some  great  naval  triumph 


NAVAL  HISTORY  9 

the  reputation  of  our  maritime  greatness  might 
be  partially  restored.  But  to  say  that  it  has 
not  hitherto  suffered  in  the  estimation  of  all 
Europe,  and,  what  is  worse,  of  America  itself, 
is  to  belie  common  sense  and  universal  experi- 
ence. Not  only  two  or  three,  but  many  of  our 
ships  on  the  ocean,  and  whole  squadrons  on 
the  lakes,  have  struck  to  a  force  vastly  inferior ; 
and  the  numbers  are  to  be  viewed  with  rela- 
tion to  the  comparative  magnitude  of  the  two 
navies.  Scarcely  is  there  an  American  ship  of 
war  which  has  not  to  boast  a  victory  over  the 
British  flag;  scarcely  one  British  ship  in  thirty 
or  forty  that  has  beaten  an  American.  With  the 
bravest  seamen  and  the  most  powerful  navy  in 
the  world,  we  retire  from  the  contest  when  the 
balance  of  defeat  is  so  heavy  against  us." 

The  Barbary  States  still  smarted  under  the 
punishment  they  had  received  from  the  Amer- 
ican squadron  in  1804-05,  so,  believing  that  the 
small  Navy  of  the  United  States  would  be  an- 
nihilated by  her  formidable  enemy,  and  encour- 
aged by  the  English  agents,  they  did  not  fail  to 


10  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

take  advantage  of  the  war  with  England  to  show 
again  their  animosity.  The  conclusion  of  the 
war  found  the  Americans  in  no  humor  to  sub- 
mit to  any  insolence,  and,  in  less  than  five 
months  after  the  treaty  of  Ghent  was  signed,  a 
squadron  was  despatched  to  the  Mediterranean. 
This  brought  to  terms  promptly  the  Barbary 
rulers,  and  they  were  forced  to  agree  to  re- 
linquish all  claim  in  future  to  tribute,  and  to 
guarantee  the  safety  of  American  commerce 
from  Corsairs  in  those  waters. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  this  peace,  the  Amer- 
ican squadrons  under  Captain  Decatur  and  Cap- 
tain Bainbridge,  assembled  in  the  harbor  of 
England's  great  stronghold,  Gibraltar.  The 
presence  of  these  squadrons,  which  included  the 
captured  British  vessels  Guerriere,  Macedonian, 
Epervier,  and  Boxer,  and  the  formidable  ap- 
pearance of  the  American  vessels,  caused  no  lit- 
tle chagrin  in  the  British  garrison. 

With  these  incidents,  the  United  States  ceased 
for  thirty  years  operations  against  an  organized 
hostile  nation. 


NAVAL  HISTORY  11 

The  Navy  was  engaged,  however,  in  other 
ways.  The  suppression  of  piracy  in  the  West 
Indies  required  its  services  from  1821  to  1825. 
In  compliance  with  the  terms  of  the  Webster- 
Ashburton  treaty  with  England  in  1842,  there 
was  maintained  for  many  years  a  squadron  to 
patrol  the  coast  of  Africa  for  the  suppression  of 
the  slave  trade.  Many  slavers  were  captured 
and  much  was  accomplished  toward  ending  the 
iniquitous  traffic. 

To  avenge  the  treacherous  murder  by  natives 
of  Qualla  Battoo,  on  the  coast  of  Sumatra,  of 
the  crew  of  the  American  brig  Friendship,  the 
frigate  Potomac  was  sent  in  1832.  A  force  was 
landed  which  attacked  the  natives  in  their 
strongholds,  destroyed  the  strongholds,  and  put 
to  flight  the  survivors  of  the  garrisons. 

When  war  broke  out  with  Mexico,  in  May, 
1846,  the  Navy  played  a  most  important  part. 
Mexico  had  no  navy  of  her  own,  so  that  the 
work  of  the  United  States  Navy  was  confined 
to  blockade  duty  and  the  capture  of  numerous 
cities  and  seaports.  The  operations  leading 


12  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

to  the  capture  and  occupation  of  California  were 
carried  out  entirely  by  the  naval  forces  in  those 
waters,  and  consequently  it  is  to  the  Navy  that 
the  country  is  indebted  for  the  capture  from 
the  Mexicans  of  that  territory.  The  naval 
forces  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  acting  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Army,  aided  in  the  capture  of  Vera 
Cruz  and  other  seaports,  and  contributed 
largely  to  the  success  of  the  American  cause. 

The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  found  the  Navy 
entirely  inadequate  to  cope  with  the  task  laid 
out  for  it,  which  consisted  of  maintaining  a 
strict  and  effective  blockade  of  the  ports  and 
harbors  of  the  Confederate  States.  By  pur- 
chasing every  available  merchant  ship,  however, 
and  by  constructing  under  hurry  orders  numer- 
ous other  ships,  the  Navy  soon  acquired  the 
necessary  number  of  war  vessels  to  keep  the 
blockade.  The  effective  blockade  contributed 
materially  to  the  final  outcome  of  the  war  by 
locking  up  in  the  ports  of  the  Confederacy  vast 
stores  of  wealth  in  cotton.  Had  they  been  able 
to  market  this,  the  Confederates  undoubtedly 


NAVAL  HISTORY  13 

would  have  made  a  much  more  formidable 
struggle,  and  the  war  might  have  dragged  on 
indefinitely.  Of  equal  importance  in  this  block- 
ade was  the  fact  that  it  shut  out  essential  sup- 
plies, munitions  of  war,  medicines,  that  the  Con- 
federacy could  not  furnish  from  her  own  re- 
sources. 

Foreign  powers  expected  that  the  South  would 
win,  and  the  idea  was  based  largely  on  a  com- 
parison of  land  forces.  Account  was  not  taken 
of  the  remarkable  development  of  the  Union 
Navy,  and  of  its  unprecedented  exploits.  Had 
the  resources  of  the  South  in  naval  matters 
been  the  equal  of  those  in  military  matters,  or 
had  the  South  had  mechanical  resources  to  per- 
mit of  building  in  an  effective  manner  the  ves- 
sels projected,  many  of  these  exploits  of  the 
Union  fleets  would  have  been  impossible. 

The  work  of  the  Navy  in  the  Civil  "War  was 
not  confined  to  blockade  duty,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  Confederacy  had  few  war  ves- 
sels with  which  the  Union  ships  might  engage. 
The  Navy  assisted  in  land  operations  by  cap- 


14  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

turing  a  number  of  Southern  seaports,  the 
most  important  operations  being  those  leading 
to  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  and  the  Missis- 
sippi Eiver.  These  were  regarded  by  many  as 
the  turning  point  of  the  struggle,  as  the  Mis- 
sissippi Eiver  is  the  key  to  the  Middle  West, 
and  its  control  permitted  the  regulation  of  the 
commerce  on  it,  and  shutting  off  one  of  the 
Confederacy's  chief  sources  of  supplies. 

The  work  of  the  Navy  during  the  Civil  War 
contributed  greatly  to  the  advancement  of  naval 
science.  Steam  propulsion,  which  before  then 
had  not  been  in  favor  for  naval  use,  came  to 
be  regarded  at  its  true  value,  and  its  availabil- 
ity to  supplant  sails  entirely  was  recognized. 
The  possibility  of  mounting  guns  in  turrets  and 
of  using  armor  protection  for  vessels  was  first 
demonstrated,  and  the  *  *  monitor  ' '  type  of  war 
vessel,  which  was  the  forerunner  of  the  great  bat- 
tleship of  the  present  day,  was  developed.  The 
navies  of  the  world  were  not  slow  to  profit  by 
the  lessons  learned  through  the  naval  operations 
of  the  Civil  War,  and  conservative  writers  have 


NAVAL  HISTORY  15 

estimated  that  in  the  few  years  of  the  war  an  ad- 
vance was  achieved  equal  to  fifty  years'  de- 
velopment under  normal  peace  conditions. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  the  Navy  was 
reduced  without  delay  to  a  peace  basis,  and  it 
was  neglected  in  succeeding  years  to  such  an 
extent  that  in  1880  it  could  be  said  that  the 
United  States  had  no  navy  capable  of  making 
war.  At  this  time  the  necessity  for  upbuild- 
ing the  Navy  was  recognized,  and  since  then 
new  ships  have  been  built  at  such  a  rate  that 
to-day  the  United  States  is  the  second  naval 
power  of  the  world,  although  that  place  soon 
will  be  claimed  by  Germany,  if  the  present  rate 
of  warship  construction  in  that  country  is 
maintained. 

The  war  against  Spain  in  1898  was  almost 
entirely  a  naval  war,  and  though  there  were  some 
military  operations,  they  were  supplementary  to 
those  of  the  Navy.  The  fleets  under  Com 
modore  Dewey  and  Bear-Admiral  Sampson  de- 
stroyed effectively  the  Spanish  naval  forces, 
and  captured  for  the  United  States  the  Philip- 


16  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

pine  Islands,  Guam,  and  Porto  Eico,  and 
achieved  the  independence  of  Cuba.  Later  the 
Navy  contributed  a  considerable  share  toward 
suppressing  the  Philippine  insurgents,  who  car- 
ried on  a  guerrilla  warfare  for  several  years 
after  peace  had  been  made  with  Spain. 

The  work  of  the  Navy,  however,  has  not  been 
confined  to  waging  war;  it  has  performed  dis- 
tinguished services  of  a  peaceful  character,  a 
few  only  of  the  most  important  of  which  may  be 
mentioned.  Through  the  Navy  many  scientific 
and  exploring  expeditions  have  been  made, 
among  them  Antarctic  expeditions  in  1838-1842 ; 
the  Dead  Sea  exploration  in  1848,  and,  also,  the 
expeditions  sent  out  for  the  relief  of  Arctic  ex- 
plorers, notably  the  expedition  in  1850  for  the 
relief  of  Franklin,  and  that  in  1882  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  Greely  expedition.  Difficult  diplo- 
matic duties  have  been  intrusted  to  naval  of- 
ficers; probably  the  most  celebrated  was  the 
Perry  expedition,  which  resulted  in  opening  Ja- 
pan to  the  world's  commerce,  the  treaty  having 
been  signed  finally  in  1858.  This  has  been 


NAVAL  HISTORY  17 

called  justly  one  of  the  greatest  diplomatic  tri- 
umphs of  recent  years. 

Officers  of  the  Navy,  through  their  scientific 
abilities,  have  made  many  contributions  to  sci- 
ence. The  founder  of  the  sciences  of  physical 
geography  and  of  hydrography  was  Lieutenant 
Maury  of  the  Navy.  In  1853  he  suggested  an 
international  maritime  congress  which,  under 
his  guidance,  adopted  many  rules  as  to  the 
general  study  of  matters  of  interest  to  nav- 
igators. Maury  instituted  the  art  of  deep  sea 
soundings,  was  the  first  to  lay  out  definite  routes 
for  vessels  crossing  the  oceans,  and  made  ex- 
haustive studies  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  He  is- 
sued many  charts,  and  was  the  first  to  suggest 
the  possibility  of  an  ocean  cable. 

Naval  officers  since  Maury 's  time  have  con- 
tinued the  work  of  hydrography  and  coast  sur- 
vey, and  valuable  work  in  these  lines  has  been 
done  up  to  the  present  time.  In  1900  the  Cable 
Survey  vessel  Nero  made  a  sounding  of  over  six 
statute  miles  near  Guam,  which  is  the  greatest 
depth  ever  attained.  The  Coast  Survey 


18  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

steamer  Blake  and  the  Fish  Commission  ship 
Albatross  carried  out  similarly  important  work, 
the  latter  having  collected  much  information 
as  to  marine  animals  of  all  sorts. 

The  U.  S.  S.  Niagara,  co-operating  with  the 
British  ship  Agamemnon,  laid  and  completed  in 
1858  the  first  successful  ocean  telegraph  cable. 

Officers  of  the  Navy  made  a  number  of  sur- 
veys of  routes  for  the  interoceanic  canal,  both 
by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  by  the  Nica- 
ragua route,  and  the  information  gained  in  this 
way  is  regarded  as  having  contributed  materi- 
ally to  the  final  solution  of  the  question  and  the 
decision  to  build  the  Panama  Canal,  now  near- 
ing  completion. 

American  citizens  abroad  must  look  to  the 
Navy  to  protect  them  from  oppression  and  en- 
force their  rights.  In  time  of  great  catas- 
trophe, such  as  earthquake,  massacres,  pesti- 
lence or  famine,  the  Navy  is  first  to  respond  to 
calls  for  aid;  notable  instances  have  been  the 
relief  of  Martinique,  Kingston,  San  Francisco, 
and  Messina,  and  the  critical  situation  in  China 


NAVAL  HISTORY  19 

at  the  time  of  the  Boxer  uprising  in  1900,  when 
the  combined  naval  forces  of  the  Powers,  by 
their  presence  and  efforts,  saved  the  lives  of 
many  persons  who  otherwise  would  have  been 
victims  of  the  massacre. 

Upon  the  Navy  devolves  the  duty  of  showing 
the  flag  in  the  world's  ports ;  in  this  manner  for- 
eign people  become  familiar  with  and  impressed 
by  the  power  of  a  nation.  The  recent  cruise 
around  the  world  in  1908-1909  by  the  fleet  of  six- 
teen battleships  gave  the  country  a  prestige  that 
it  could  not  have  acquired  otherwise,  and  also 
went  far  in  maintaining  peace  at  a  time  when 
there  was  good  reason  to  believe  that  hostile  ac- 
tion threatened. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION 

THE  President  is  the  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  United  States  Navy.  Under  his  orders  it  is 
controlled  and  managed  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  a  Cabinet  officer.  The  Navy  Depart- 
ment, through  its  various  bureaus,  administers 
the  affairs  of  the  Navy,  its  ships,  navy  yards, 
shore  stations,  and  personnel;  it  directs  the 
movements  of  all  naval  vessels,  co-operating 
with  the  Department  of  State  when  diplomatic 
considerations  require  the  services  of  men-of- 
war  ;  it  has  charge  of  the  construction  of  all  new 
ships  for  the  Navy,  and  the  repairs  to  those  in 
service;  it  assigns  to  duty  the  various  officers 
and  men  of  the  Navy ;  it  purchases  all  supplies 
needed  for  the  naval  service,  including  provi- 
sions and  clothing  for  the  enlisted  men,  am- 

20 


T? 

7? 

0> 

I 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  21 

munition,  coal,  and  miscellaneous  articles 
needed  for  the  building,  repairing,  maintenance, 
and  running  of  the  ships;  it  has  charge  of  the 
Naval  Observatory,  and,  through  that,  of  the 
telegraphic  time  service  all  over  the  country, 
and  the  preparation  of  the  Nautical  Almanac ;  it 
has  charge  of  the  Naval  Academy  and  various 
naval  training  stations  for  the  education  and 
instruction  of  officers  and  enlisted  men;  also 
the  Navy  Department  administers  the  affairs  of 
the  colonies  of  Guam,  Mariana  Islands,  and  Tu- 
tuila,  Sainoan  Islands. 

The  Navy  Department  is  responsible  to  Con- 
gress for  the  execution  of  its  laws  and  the  ex- 
penditures of  the  naval  appropriations.  The 
control  of  the  Navy  was  vested  in  the  Secretary 
of  War  until  1798,  when  the  Navy  Department 
was  established,  with  Benjamin  Stoddert,  of 
Georgetown,  D.  C.,  as  the  first  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.  By  reason  of  the  priority  of  the  secre- 
taryship, the  Army  is  the  senior  service,  and  on 
ceremonial  occasions  and  in  parades  the  Army 
contingent  takes  precedence  over  the  Navy.  In 


22  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

England  the  opposite  is  true,  the  Navy  being 
the  senior  service. 

The  Navy  Department  is  housed  with  the  War 
and  State  Departments  in  a  building  on  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  adjacent  to  the  White  House. 
The  present  building  has  been  occupied  since 
1879,  and  in  recent  years  is  much  overcrowded. 

In  addition  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the 
organization  of  the  Navy  Department  consists 
of  a  civilian  Assistant  Secretary  and  eight 
chiefs  of  bureaus.  The  chiefs  of  bureaus  are 
naval  officers,  and,  while  so  serving,  have  the 
rank  and  pay  of  rear-admirals. 

The  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  per- 
forms such  duties  in  connection  with  the  admin- 
istration of  the  Navy  Department  as  may  be 
assigned  to  him  by  the  Secretary,  and,  in  the 
absence  of  the  Secretary,  performs  the  duties 
of  his  office. 

The  chiefs  of  the  bureaus  are  the  deputies  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and,  subject  to  his 
orders  and  instructions,  they  carry  on  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Navy  Department,  each  caring  for 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  23 

the  matter  directly  under  the  cognizance  of  his 
bureau.  All  orders  issued  by  the  Assistant 
Secretary  or  the  chiefs  of  bureaus  are  consid- 
ered as  having  full  force  as  orders  of  the  Secre- 
tary. 

The  business  of  the  Navy  Department  is  dis- 
tributed among  the  bureaus  in  such  manner  as 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  judges  to  be  ex- 
pedient, certain  limitations  being  placed  by  the 
annual  appropriation  bills,  which  provide  the 
money  for  carrying  out  specified  work  by  each 
bureau. 

The  different  bureaus  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment and  the  duties  of  each  are  as  fol- 
lows : — 

The  Bureau  of  Navigation,  the  Chief  of  which 
is  an  officer  of  the  line  or  seaman  branch,  is 
charged  with  the  assignment  to  duty  of  officers 
and  men ;  the  enlistment  and  instruction  of  the 
men ;  the  appointment  and  promotion  of  officers ; 
the  publication  and  distribution  of  charts,  and 
with  the  conducting  of  ocean  and  lake  surveys. 
This  Bureau  supplies  navigational  outfits  and 


24  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

libraries  for  ships.  It  administers  the  affairs 
of  the  Naval  Academy,  the  Naval  War  College, 
the  Naval  Home,  the  Naval  training  stations, 
the  Hydrographic  Office,  and  the  Naval  Ob- 
servatory. The  officers  of  this  Bureau  are  line 
officers. 

The  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair,  the 
Chief  of  which  is  the  Chief  Constructor  of  the 
Navy,  is  charged  with  all  that  relates  to  the 
structural  strength  and  stability  of  naval  ves- 
sels, and  with  all  that  relates  to  designing,  build- 
ing, and  repairing  their  hulls  and  auxiliary  ma- 
chinery. The  officers  of  this  Bureau  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Corps  of  Naval  Constructors. 

The  Bureau  of  Ordnance,  the  Chief  of  which 
is  a  line  officer,  has  charge  of  the  design  and 
building  of  naval  guns,  the  purchase  and  manu- 
facture of  projectiles,  armor,  torpedoes,  powder, 
and  other  explosives,  and  of  the  electrical  ap- 
paratus connected  with  the  installation  of  guns. 
It  administers  the  affairs  of  the  Naval  Gun  Fac- 
tory, the  Proving  Grounds,  the  Torpedo  Fac- 
tory, and  the  magazines  for  storing  ashore  sup- 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  25 

plies  of  ammunition.  The  officers  of  this  Bureau 
are  line  officers. 

The  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering,  the  Chief 
of  which  is  the  Engineer-in-Chief  of  the  Navy, 
has  charge  of  designing  and  building  the  ma- 
chinery for  the  propulsion  of  naval  vessels,  the 
boilers,  pumps,  distilling  apparatus,  and  steam 
connections.  It  prepares  specifications  for 
the  fuel  used  for  the  Navy,  and  controls  the 
Engineering  Experiment  Station  at  Anna- 
polis. The  officers  of  this  Bureau  are  line 
officers. 

The  Bureau  of  Supplies  and  Accounts,  the 
Chief  of  which  is  the  Paymaster-General  of  the 
Navy,  is  charged  with  disbursing  and  keeping 
an  account  of  all  money  appropriated  and  ex- 
pended for  the  naval  service ;  with  the  purchase 
and  custody  of  all  stores  and  provisions  for  the 
Navy ;  with  the  manufacture  and  issue  of  cloth- 
ing for  the  enlisted  men,  and  with  the  purchase 
and  preparation  of  the  food  for  all  enlisted  men. 
The  officers  of  this  Bureau  are  members  of  the 
Corps  of  Paymasters. 


26  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

The  Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  the  Chief 
X)f  which  is  a  civil  engineer,  has  charge  of  de- 
signing, building,  and  maintenance  of  dry  docks, 
wharves,  quays,  and  buildings  at  navy  yards, 
and  at  naval  stations ;  also  with  providing  fur- 
niture and  accessories  for  the  buildings.  The 
officers  of  this  Bureau  are  members  of  the  Corps 
of  Civil  Engineers. 

The  Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  the 
Chief  of  which  is  the  Surgeon-General  of  the 
Navy,  is  charged  with  maintaining  the  hygiene 
of  the  Navy  and  the  health  of  the  Navy  person- 
nel. This  Bureau  controls  naval  hospitals,  pur- 
chases medicines  and  surgical  instruments,  and 
has  charge  of  the  naval  pension  records.  The 
officers  of  this  Bureau  are  members  of  the  Corps 
of  Surgeons. 

Up  to  July  1, 1910,  there  existed  also  a  Bureau 
of  Equipment,  the  Chief  of  which  was  an  officer 
of  the  line.  The  business  formerly  assigned  to 
this  Bureau  has  been  divided  tentatively  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  among  other  bureaus. 
That  relating  to  electrical  installations  on  board 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  27 

ship,  wireless  telegraph  stations  on  ship  and  on 
shore,  and  the  maintenance  and  operation  of 
coaling  plants  on  shore,  has  been  assigned  to 
the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering.  That  re- 
lating to  the  supply  of  ships  of  navigational 
outfits,  libraries,  and  charts,  the  carrying  on 
of  ocean  and  lake  surveys,  and  the  control  of 
the  Naval  Observatory  and  the  Hydrographic 
Office  has  been  assigned  to  the  Bureau  of  Navi- 
gation. The  business  of  supplying  anchors, 
chains,  canvas,  cordage,  flags,  and  galley  fittings 
has  been  assigned  to  the  Bureau  of  Construc- 
tion and  Repair,  and  that  of  supplying  mess  out- 
fits to  ships  has  been  assigned  to  the  Bureau  of 
Supplies  and  Accounts. 

Each  chief  of  bureau  is  answerable  for  the 
proper  performance  of  his  duties  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  and,  through  him,  to  the 
President.  Chiefs  of  bureaus  are  appointed  by 
the  President  from  among  the  officers  of  cer- 
tain grades  declared  by  law  to  be  eligible  for 
such  appointments.  The  term  of  duty  for  each 
chief  is  four  years. 


28  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

In  addition  to  the  bureaus,  the  organization 
of  the  Navy  Department  includes  the  follow- 
ing:— 

The  Judge  Advocate  General,  whose  duties 
are  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  legal 
features  of  all  courts-martial,  courts  of  inquiry, 
boards  of  investigation,  boards  for  examina- 
tion of  officers  for  promotion  or  retirement,  and, 
in  general,  all  legal  questions  relating  to  the 
personnel  of  the  Navy. 

The  Solicitor,  whose  duties  are  to  consider 
and  report  upon  all  legal  questions  not  relating 
to  personnel  that  come  before  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  in  connection  with  the  business  of  the 
Department.  This  includes  also  the  prepara- 
tion and  certification  of  contracts. 

The  General  Board  of  the  Navy,  the  duties 
of  which  are  to  devise  plans  and  measures  for 
the  preparation  and  maintenance  of  the  fleet  in 
readiness  for  war,  and  to  advise  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  fleet,  of- 
ficers, and  men.  This  board  is  required  also 
to  submit  recommendations  as  to  the  military 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  29 

characteristics  of  new  designs  for  naval  ships. 
The  General  Board  at  present  is  composed  of 
Admiral  Dewey,  the  Aid  for  Operations,  the 
Aid  for  Material,  the  Chief  Intelligence  Officer, 
the  President  of  the  Naval  War  College,  and 
other  officers,  all  of  whom  are  officers  of  the 
line. 

The  Office  of  Naval  Intelligence,  the  duties 
of  which  are  to  collect  and  arrange,  in  form 
to  be  available  when  needed,  information  on  all 
subjects  of  interest  to  the  naval  service.  This 
includes  information  concerning  foreign  navies 
collected  by  naval  attaches  abroad. 

To  assist  and  advise  the  Secretary  in  admin- 
istering and  to  co-ordinate  the  work  under  each 
of  the  four  principal  divisions  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment, there  are  assigned  four  officers  of 
the  Navy  on  the  active  list  to  act,  respectively, 
as  the  Aid  for  Operations,  the  Aid  for  Person- 
nel, the  Aid  for  Material,  and  the  Aid  for  In- 
spections. The  duty  of  each  of  these  aids  is 
to  advise  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  as  regards 
the  work  of  his  division. 


30  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

The  Division  of  Operations  of  the  Fleet  in- 
cludes the  Office  of  Naval  Intelligence,  the  Naval 
War  College,  and  all  that  relates  to  the  move- 
ments  of  naval  vessels. 

The  Division  of  Personnel  includes  the  Bu- 
reau of  Navigation,  the  Bureau  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  the  office  of  the  Judge  Advocate  Gen- 
eral, and  matters  relating  to  the  Naval  Militia. 

The  Division  of  Material  includes  the  Bureaus 
of  Ordnance,  Construction  and  Repair,  Steam 
Engineering,  Yards  and  Docks,  and  Supplies 
and  Accounts. 

The  Division  of  Inspections  includes  the  vari- 
ous boards  of  inspection  and  special  inspecting 
officers. 

GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  NAVY 

Officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the  Navy  are  sub- 
ject not  only  to  the  civil  laws  of  the  community 
in  which  they  are,  but,  also,  to  special  laws  re- 
lating to  the  naval  service  and  to  the  Navy  Reg- 
ulations. The  articles  for  the  Government  of 
the  Navy,  known  also  as  the  Articles  of  War, 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  31 

are  a  part  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United 
States.  They  specify  the  various  crimes  and 
misdemeanors,  and  the  degree  and  method  of 
punishment  for  each.  Under  their  provisions, 
the  commanding  officer  of  a  vessel,  by  his  own 
order,  may  inflict  certain  punishment  not  to 
exceed,  in  the  case  of  an  enlisted  man,  confine- 
ment for  ten  days,  solitary  confinement  for 
seven  days,  or  a  diet  of  bread  and  water  for  five 
days.  More  severe  punishment  may  be  inflicted 
on  an  enlisted  man  by  a  deck  court,  consisting 
of  one  officer,  or  by  a  summary  court-martial, 
consisting  of  three  officers.  The  deck  court  and 
the  summary  court-martial  are  appointed  by 
the  commanding  officers.  The  deck  courts  can- 
not adjudge  discharge  from  the  service,  nor 
confinement  or  loss  of  pay  for  more  than 
twenty  days.  The  summary  courts-martial 
have  the  power  to  impose  maximum  sentences 
on  enlisted  men  as  follows :  dismissal  from  the 
service,  confinement  on  bread  and  water  for 
one  month,  or  confinement  on  regulation  fare  for 
two  months,  or  loss  of  pay  not  to  exceed  three 


32  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

months.  Summary  courts-martial  may  sen- 
tence offenders  to  reduction  in  rating,  extra 
police  duties,  or  deprivation  of  liberty  on  for- 
eign stations.  General  courts-martial,  consist- 
ing of  not  more  than  thirteen,  nor  less  than  five, 
commissioned  officers,  may  impose  any  of  the 
sentences,  including  that  of  death,  mentioned 
in  the  articles  for  the  Government  of  the  Navy. 
Sentences  of  naval  courts-martial  are  subject 
to  review  by  the  convening  authority,  and  are 
carried  into  effect  only  upon  approval  by  such 
authority.  Those  extending  to  loss  of  life  or 
the  dismissal  of  an  officer  are  not  carried  into 
effect  until  confirmed  by  the  President. 

The  proceedings  of  a  general  court-martial 
are  very  formal ;  the  senior  officer  presides,  and 
the  other  members  take  places  in  order  of  their 
rank.  Each  member  is  sworn  to  ' '  try  truly  the 
case  depending,  according  to  the  evidence  which 
shall  come  before  the  court,  the  rules  for  the 
Government  of  the  Navy,  and  his  own  con- 
science." The  Judge  Advocate  of  the  court 
keeps  the  record,  and  also  acts  as  attorney  for 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  33 

the  prosecution,  bringing  before  the  court  the 
witnesses  and  evidence  necessary  to  prove 
the  charge.  All  witnesses  are  sworn  to  tell  the 
"  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 
truth."  Except  for  a  sentence  of  death,  which 
requires  a  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers, the  vote  of  the  majority  determines  the 
findings  of  a  court-martial.  General  courts- 
martial  may  be  convened  by  the  President,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  or  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  a  fleet  or  squadron  in  foreign  waters 
on  his  own  authority,  or  in  waters  of  the  United 
States  on  the  approval  of  the  President.  Under 
the  Articles  of  War,  the  sentence  of  death  may 
be  imposed  upon  any  person  in  the  naval  service 
for  mutiny,  disobedience  of  orders,  treason, 
desertion  in  time  of  war,  sleeping  on  watch  in 
time  of  war,  cowardice  in  battle,  wilful  destruc- 
tion or  endangering  a  vessel  of  the  Navy,  or 
failure  on  signal  for  battle  to  use  every  en- 
deavor to  engage  the  enemy  in  battle ;  or  failure 
to  overtake  and  capture,  or  destroy  any  vessel 
which  it  is  that  person's  duty  to  encounter;  or 


34  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

for  striking  the  flag  to  an  enemy  without  proper 
authority;  or,  when  in  battle,  treacherously 
yielding  or  pusillanimously  crying  for  quarter. 

Other  punishments  of  varying  degree  are 
specified,  many  of  them  imprisonment  for  terms 
of  varying  length.  Others  involve  confinement 
on  board  ship,  loss  of  pay,  reduction  in  rank  or 
rating.  For  certain  misdemeanors  an  officer 
may  be  reduced  to  be  a  seaman.  Desertion  is 
one  of  the  commonest  crimes  of  enlisted  men  of 
the  Navy;  a  greater  number  of  the  inmates  of 
naval  prisons  are  undergoing  imprisonment  for 
this  offense  than  for  any  other.  Desertion  is 
punishable  by  confinement  for  terms  of  varying 
length,  depending  on  the  circumstances,  and 
dishonorable  discharge  from  the  naval  service, 
including  loss  of  citizenship. 

An  officer  placed  under  arrest  for  trial  by 
court-martial  is  required  to  deliver  up  his  sword 
to  his  commanding  officer,  and  to  confine  him- 
self to  the  limits  prescribed.  In  time  of  peace 
no  officer  may  be  dismissed  from  the  Navy  ex- 
cept in  pursuance  of  the  sentence  of  a  court- 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  35 

martial  or  in  mitigation  of  a  more  severe  sen- 
tence. 

Formerly  punishment  by  flogging  was  per- 
mitted, and  many  suffered  from  this  inhuman 
treatment.  In  many  cases  * '  flogging  from  ship 
to  ship  "  was  adjudged.  This  consisted  in  tak- 
ing the  offender  in  a  launch  and  administering, 
alongside  of  each  ship  of  the  fleet  in  turn,  the 
prescribed  number  of  blows,  all  hands  being 
called  to  witness  the  punishment.  Now  the 
Articles  of  War  prohibit  the  punishment  of 
any  person  in  -the  Navy  by  flogging,  branding, 
or  tattooing  the  body. 

One  of  the  famous  naval  courts-martial  in  his- 
tory is  that  which  sentenced,  in  1757,  Sir  John 
Byng,  Admiral  of  the  Blue  in  the  English  Navy, 
to  be  shot  for  failing  to  do  his  utmost  to  take, 
seize,  and  destroy  the  French  ships  with  which 
the  fleet  under  his  command  was  engaged  off 
Minorca  in  1756.  The  members  of  the  court- 
martial  which  sentenced  Admiral  Byng  unani- 
mously recommended  him  for  clemency,  stating 
that,  under  the  Articles  of  War,  this  was  the 


36  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

only  punishment  they  could  adjudge  for  the  of- 
fense of  which  he  was  found  guilty.  In  spite 
of  this  recommendation,  the  sentence  was  car- 
ried out.  Mutiny  is  a  most  serious  offense 
against  naval  discipline,  and  many  cases  have 
occurred.  In  the  English  Navy  in  the  eight- 
eenth and  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
there  were  many  such,  punished  invariably  by 
hanging  the  offenders  at  the  yard-arm  of  their 
ships,  all  hands  on  all  ships  present  being  called 
up  to  witness  the  punishment.  In  the  United 
States  Navy  the  most  famous  case  is  that  of 
Midshipman  Spencer,  who  was  hung,  along  with 
a  boatswain's  mate  and  a  seaman,  for  suspected 
mutiny  on  board  the  U.  S.  S.  Somers  in  1842. 
Mr.  Spencer,  who  was  a  relative  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  was  not  accorded  a  court- 
martial,  but  was  hung  by  order  of  his  captain. 
Persons  in  the  naval  service,  sentenced  to  im- 
prisonment by  courts-martial,  are  confined  in 
prisons  maintained  under  the  control  of  the 
Navy  Department.  There  are  naval  prisons  at 
the  navy  yards  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  Boston, 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  37 

Mass.,  Mare  Island,  Cal.,  and  Cavite,  P.  I. 
There  are  also  prison  ships  at  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  and  Bremerton,  Wash.  In  these  the  gen- 
eral court-martial  prisoners  are  confined  to 
serve  their  sentences. 

THE  FLEETS 

The  ships  of  the  Navy  are  divided  into  squad- 
rons and  fleets  for  purposes  of  organization  and 
drill ;  at  the  present  time  there  are  three  fleets, 
or  main  divisions,  which  include  all  vessels  of 
the  Navy  in  commission,  except  "  special  serv- 
ice "  ships.  These  fleets  are  the  Atlantic 
Fleet,  the  Pacific  Fleet,  and  the  Asiatic  Fleet. 
Each  is  commanded  by  a  Bear-Admiral,  there 
not  being  regularly  any  higher  grade  in  our 
Navy.  It  is  probable  that  were  thero  officers 
of  the  grade  of  Vice-Admiral  one  would  be  in 
command  of  each  fleet.  Foreign  countries  with 
smaller  navies  than  ours  have  in  command  afloat 
Vice-Admirals  and  even  Admirals.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  Congress  will  establish  the  grade  of 
Vice-Admiral,  if  not  that  of  Admiral,  so  that 


3d  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

this  country  will  not  be  shamed  further  by 
having  foreign  officers  commanding  weaker 
fleets  take  precedence  over  its  officers.  Ad- 
miral Dewey  and  his  predecessors  in  this  grade, 
Farragut  and  David  Porter,  received  the  rank 
by  special  acts  of  Congress.  Under  present 
laws  in  this  country,  the  grade  and  title  of  ad- 
miral cease  with  the  death  of  the  incumbent 
until  again  revived  by  special  law. 

It  does  not  follow  that  four  battleships  are 
four  times  as  strong  as  one  battleship,  for  it 
might  happen  that,  if  not  drilled  properly  and 
managed  skilfully,  four  ships  would  be  less 
formidable  than  a  single  well-drilled  ship.  For 
this  reason  warships  are  maneuvered  in  squad- 
ron and  fleet  formations,  to  teach  their  officers 
to  perform  the  various  evolutions  that  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  may  order  by  signal,  and  also 
to  make  them  effective  as  a  whole  against  a 
similar  hostile  aggregation.  There  are  many 
elements  that  enter  into  the  question  of  dispos- 
ing a  fleet  so  as  to  present  the  strongest  pos- 
sible formation  to  an  attacking  force,  naval  tac- 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  39 

tics  being  a  complicated  subject  which  changes 
with  each  type  of  ship  brought  out,  and 
which  offers  continually  new  and  difficult 
problems. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Atlantic  Fleet  is  on 
the  east  coast  of  the  United  States ;  that  of  the 
Pacific  Fleet  is  on  the  west  coast,  and  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Asiatic  Fleet  is  in  the  Philippine 
Islands. 

As  at  present  constituted  the  Atlantic  Fleet 
consists  of  twenty-one  battleships,  four  divi- 
sions of  five  battleships  each,  and  a  battleship 
to  serve  as  flagship  for  the  commander-in-chief. 
There  are  fleet  auxiliaries  consisting  of  supply 
ships,  a  range  ship,  a  hospital  ship,  a  repair 
ship,  and  several  tenders.  There  is  also  a 
cruiser  division  of  four  ships. 

The  Pacific  Fleet  consists  of  two  divisions 
of  three  armored  cruisers  each  and  a  fleet  sup- 
ply ship. 

The  Asiatic  Fleet  consists  of  three  divisions, 
one  of  which  comprises  an  armored  cruiser  and 
two  protected  cruisers,  and  the  other  two  are 


40  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

made  up  of  small  gunboats.  There  are  two 
coast  defense  monitors  attached  to  this  fleet. 

There  are,  similarly,  three  torpedo  fleets,  each 
consisting  of  the  torpedo  craft  and  submarines 
in  the  various  waters. 

There  are  a  number  of  vessels  not  attached 
to  any  fleet,  but  assigned  to  special  service. 
This  includes  several  battleships  in  reserve, 
which  are  manned  only  with  skeleton  crews,  but 
are  maintained  in  condition  to  be  placed  in 
service  at  short  notice.  The  arrangement  of 
the  various  fleets  and  the  number  and  character 
of  vessels  attached  to  each  are  subject  to  fre- 
quent change,  depending  on  various  considera- 
tions. 

NAVY  YARDS  AND  SHORE  STATIONS 

For  the  repair  and  maintenance  of  vessels  of 
the  Navy  there  are  a  number  of  navy  yards  and 
stations.  The  principal  ones  are  at  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H.,  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Norfolk,  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Mare  Island,  Cal., 
Puget  Sound,  Wash.,  and  Cavite,  P.  I.  There 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  41 

are  others,  smaller  ones,  at  Pensacola  and  Key 
West,  Fla.,  and  at  New  Orleans.  There  is 
also  a  navy  yard  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  where 
the  chief  work  is  the  manufacture  of  guns. 

Each  ship  of  the  Navy  is  assigned  to  a  "  home 
yard,"  which  it  visits  usually  twice  a  year  for 
docking  and  necessary  repairs  and  overhauling. 
All  of  the  navy  yards  have  shops  and  other 
facilities  for  carrying  out  the  work  on  the  ships 
assigned  to  them.  They  have  dry  docks  capable 
of  docking  ships  for  periodical  cleaning  and 
painting  of  the  bottoms,  and  for  such  work  on 
the  underwater  portion  of  the  hulls  as  may  be 
necessary  from  time  to  time. 

Several  of  the  navy  yards  are  equipped  for 
building  ships,  those  at  New  York  and  Mare 
Island  for  building  the  largest  size  battleships. 
At  the  present  time  the  New  York  Yard  is  en- 
gaged in  building  the  27,000-ton  battleship  New 
York.  At  this  yard  were  built  the  battleship 
Maine,  which  was  blown  up  in  Havana  harbor, 
and  the  battleships  Connecticut  and  Florida. 
The  greater  number  of  the  Navy's  ships  were 


42  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

built,  however,  in  private  shipyards  under  con- 
tract. 

All  navy  yards  are  provided  with' the  neces- 
sary shops,  machines,  tools,  and  appliances  for 
all  classes  of  repair  work  on  naval  vessels.  This 
includes  the  facilities  requisite  for  work  on  en- 
gines and  machinery  of  every  kind,  guns,  boil- 
ers, electrical  installations,  foundry  and  pattern 
work,  ship  carpenter  and  joiner  work,  sheet 
metal,  steel  plate,  and  structural  work,  painting 
and  plumbing,  spars  and  rigging,  anchors  and 
chains,  blocks,  cooperage ;  for  sail  and  flag  mak- 
ing, and  for  building  and  repairing  small  boats. 

Navy  yards  have  also  general  storehouses 
for  the  reception,  care,  and  issue  of  material 
required  to  carry  on  the  work  in  the  yard,  and 
for  stores  and  provisions  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  ships.  At  the  New  York  Yard  there  is  a 
shop  for  the  manufacture  of  the  uniform  cloth- 
ing for  the  enlisted  men  of  the  Navy. 

The  administration  of  a  navy  yard  is  under 
the  Commandant,  who  is  responsible  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  for  the  proper  performance 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  43 

of  the  work  assigned  to  it.  A  Bear-Admiral  or 
a  Captain  in  the  Navy  usually  is  assigned  to 
each  of  the  large  yards  as  Commandant.  Under 
the  Commandant  are  the  Captain  of  the  Yard 
and  the  heads  of  the  divisions  of  the  Manufac- 
turing Department,  the  former  being  a  line  of- 
ficer of  the  Navy  of  the  rank  usually  of  Captain. 
On  duty  in  navy  yards  there  are  also  a  General 
Storekeeper,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Pay  Corps 
of  the  Navy,  a  Yard  Surgeon,  a  pay  officer,  de- 
tailed as  Paymaster  of  the  Yard,  and  a  pay  of- 
ficer detailed  as  Accounting  Officer,  and  charged 
with  keeping  the  accounts  of  the  cost  of  work. 
There  is,  also,  a  line  officer,  detailed  as  Inspect- 
ing Officer,  who  passes  on  work  which  has  been 
performed  by  the  manufacturing  department. 

The  manufacturing  department  is  divided 
into  the  machinery  division,  the  hull  division, 
and  the  public  works  department.  The  head  of 
each  is,  respectively,  a  line  officer,  a  naval  con- 
structor, and  a  civil  engineer. 

The  machinery  division  carries  out  all  work 
on  the  engines,  boilers,  auxiliary  machinery,  and 


44  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

electrical  plants  of  vessels ;  the  hull  division  has 
work  relating  to  hulls  and  their  accessories,  in- 
cluding docking  of  vessels.  The  public  works 
department  has  charge  of  work  on  buildings  and 
grounds,  and  the  construction  of  public  works. 
The  General  Storekeeper  is  charged  with  ob- 
taining and  issuing  materials  and  stores  neces- 
sary for  carrying  on  the  work,  and  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  ships  in  commission. 

Navy  yard  employes  consist  of  two  classes, 
clerks  and  draughtsmen  forming  one,  and  work- 
men another.  The  clerks  and  draughtsmen  are 
appointed  under  the  civil  service  rules,  and  hold 
permanent  appointments  during  good  behavior. 
The  workmen  are  employed  or  discharged  as 
required  by  the  amount  of  work  in  hand. 
Formerly  the  employment  of  navy  yard  labor 
was  a  source  of  corruption  for  political  pur- 
poses, but  nowadays  workmen  are  employed  and 
discharged  under  a  system  that  prevents  any 
possibility  of  favoritism.  The  law  requires 
that  when  additional  workmen  are  needed  they 
shall  be  called  in  the  order  in  which  their  names 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  45 

appear  on  a  registration  list,  preference  being 
given  only  to  veterans  of  the  Civil  and  Spanish 
Wars,  and  to  honorably  discharged  enlisted  men 
of  the  Navy  or  Army.  There  is  also  a  require- 
ment of  law  that  no  increase  in  the  force  of 
workmen  at  a  navy  yard  may  be  made  within 
sixty  days  preceding  a  national  election,  except 
in  case  of  emergency,  to  which  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  must  certify. 

Annually,  a  board  of  officers  appointed  by 
the  Commandant,  meets  to  determine  the  rate 
of  wages  that  shall  be  paid  to  workmen  of  each 
trade  and  class  during  the  succeeding  year. 
The  law  requires  that  the  rates  of  wages  shall 
be  based  on  those  paid  by  private  firms,  in  the 
vicinity,  doing  similar  work.  Navy  yard  work- 
men work  only  eight  hours  each  day,  have  half 
holidays,  with  pay,  on  Saturdays  during  the 
summer  months,  are  paid  full  wages  for  legal 
holidays,  and  are  allowed,  in  addition,  fifteen 
days'  leave  with  full  pay  each  year.  Owing  to 
these  considerations,  the  Government  is  able  to 
secure  in  its  navy  yards  the  best  class  of  me- 


46  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

chanics  in  each  community,  and  the  work  done 
is  of  the  highest  character. 

Boys  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  eighteen 
years  are  employed  in  navy  yards  for  appren- 
ticeship in  the  various  trades.  These  are  paid 
liberal  wages,  are  encouraged  to  study,  and  to 
learn  their  trades  thoroughly,  and,  upon  reach- 
ing the  age  of  twenty-one,  they  are  given  cer- 
tificates of  completion  of  apprenticeship,  and 
are  rated  in  the  regular  yard  force.  This  sys- 
tem gives  a  large  number  of  boys  an  oppor- 
tunity, that  they  might  not  otherwise  enjoy,  of 
learning  a  trade.  At  each  of  the  principal  navy 
yards  there  are  several  hundred  apprentices. 

In  addition  to  the  navy  yards  a  number  of 
other  shore  stations  are  maintained  for  various 
purposes  in  connection  with  the  naval  establish- 
ment ;  the  most  important  and  widely  known  of 
these,  perhaps,  is  the  Naval  Observatory  in 
Washington.  The  Observatory  has,  as  one  of 
its  functions,  the  duty  of  sending  out  daily  at 
noon,  to  points  throughout  the  country,  the  tele- 
graphic time  signals;  in  its  offices  is  compiled 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  47 

"  The  Nautical  Almanac  and  American  Ephe- 
meris,"  for  use  of  navigators  all  over  the 
world;  at  this  institution  all  chronometers  and 
compasses  for  naval  vessels  are  adjusted  before 
being  sent  out.  Also,  at  the  Observatory  naval 
officers  may  receive  instruction  in  the  manage- 
ment and  use  of  chronometers  and  compasses. 

Other  naval  stations  >are  the  Naval  Proving 
Ground  at  Indian  Head,  Md.,  where  all  large 
guns  for  the  Navy  are  proved,  ballistic  tests 
of  armor  plates  are  made,  and  smokeless  powder 
is  manufactured;  the  Naval  Torpedo  Station 
at  Newport,  E.  I.,  where  torpedoes  are  tested 
and  some  smokeless  powder  made.  The  Naval 
Training  Stations,  where  newly  enlisted  ap- 
prentice seamen  are  given  preliminary  training, 
are:  Newport,  E.  I.,  Norfolk,  Va.,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal.,  and  on  Lake  Michigan,  near  Chicago. 
The  Naval  Academy,  where  midshipmen  are  in- 
structed, is  at  Annapolis,  Md. 

There  are  a  number  of  coal  depots  along  the 
Atlantic,  Pacific  and  Gulf  Coasts,  and  in  the  in- 
sular possessions ;  in  these  coal  for  use  of  naval 


48  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

vessels  is  stored  in  varying  quantities,  ranging 
up  to  40,000  tons  at  the  larger  depots. 

The  Navy  maintains  an  intercommunicating 
chain  of  wireless  telegraph  stations  at  conveni- 
ent points  along  the  coast  lines,  and  in  Alaska 
and  the  island  possessions,  to  insure  prompt 
communication  with  vessels  off  shore.  Wireless 
telegraphy,  as  well  as  being  of  growing  im- 
portance to  ship  owners,  has  become  an  es- 
sential element  in  national  defense. 

There  are  naval  hospitals  located  near  each 
of  the  navy  yards  for  the  care  and  treatment 
of  the  sick  among  the  officers  and  enlisted  men 
of  the  Navy.  There  is  also  a  naval  hospital  at 
Las  Animas,  Colo.,  for  the  treatment  of 
those  suffering  with  tuberculosis.  At  Hot 
Springs,  Ark.,  the  Army  and  Navy  General 
Hospital  treats  naval  patients  for  rheumatic 
and  similar  ailments. 

There  are  naval  powder  depots,  located  at 
suitable  isolated  points,  near  each  of  the  various 
navy  yards,  for  the  storage  of  ammunition. 

The  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  Navy  Depart- 


THE  NAVY'S  ORGANIZATION  49 

ment  is  charged  with  disseminating  information 
of  interest  to  mariners,  with  the  preparation 
and  printing  of  charts  for  navigation  purposes, 
and  sailing  directions.  It  prepares  and  issues  a 
monthly  pilot  chart  of  the  oceans,  showing  the 
direction  and  force  of  prevailing  winds  and 
currents,  location  of  derelicts,  and  giving  the 
most  advantageous  sailing  routes.  There  are 
branch  hydrographic  offices  in  the  principal 
ports,  where  information  of  the  above  character 
is  collected  and  disseminated. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL 
COMMISSIONED  PERSONNEL 

THE  officers  of  the  Navy  are  divided  into  line 
officers  and  staff  officers.  All  commissioned  of- 
ficers are  appointed  by  the  President  in  con- 
formity with  the  requirements  of  laws  relating 
to  such  appointments.  These  appointments 
must  be  confirmed  by  the  United  States  Senate ; 
that  having  been  done,  a  commission,  signed  by 
the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  bearing  the  seal  of  the  Navy  Department,  is 
issued  to  each  officer. 

The  various  titles,  in  the  order  of  their  rank, 
of  the  line  officers  are :  Admiral,  Bear- Admiral, 
Commodore, — a  title  existing  only  on  the  re- 
tired list, — Captain,  Commander,  Lieutenant- 
Commander,  Lieutenant,  Lieutenant  (junior 
grade),  Ensign,  Midshipman,  Chief  Boatswain, 

50 

LIBRARY 
SIQINEER   SCHOOL. 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  51 

Chief  Gunner,  and  Chief  Machinist.  Boat- 
swains, Gunners  and  Machinists  are  warrant  of- 
ficers of  the  line. 

The  staff  officers  are :  Surgeons,  Paymasters, 
Professors  of  Mathematics,  Naval  Construct- 
ors, Civil  Engineers,  Chief  Carpenters,  Chief 
Sailmakers,  and  Chief  Machinists.  Carpenters, 
Sailmakers,  and  Pharmacists  are  warrant  of- 
ficers of  the  staff.  Staff  officers  of  the  Navy 
have  rank  for  the  purpose  of  determining  their 
position  in  the  service  with  relation  to  the  line 
officers.  Their  commissions  state  their  rank 
as  well  as  their  staff  corps  designation,  but 
their  titles  are  those  of  their  corps  designa- 
tion. 

Naval  officers  take  rank  with  officers  of  the 
Army  and  Marine  Corps  as  follows : — 
The  Admiral  ranks  with  a  general, 
Rear-admirals  with  major-generals, 
Commodores  with  brigadier-generals, 
Captains  in  the  Navy  with  colonels, 
Commanders  with  lieutenant-colonels, 
Lieutenant-commanders  with  majors, 


52  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

Lieutenants  in  the  Navy  with  captains  in  the 
Army, 

Lieutenants  (junior  grade)  with  first  lieuten- 
ants, and 

Ensigns  with  second  lieutenants. 

The  Revised  Statutes  require  that  no  person 
shall  be  appointed  to  any  office  in  the  Navy  un- 
less he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  not 
until  he  has  passed  a  physical,  mental,  and  pro- 
fessional examination.  The  oath  of  allegiance 
to  uphold  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
is  required  to  be  taken  prior  to  an  appoint- 
ment. 

LINE  OFFICERS 

The  line  of  the  Navy  is  recruited  almost  en- 
tirely from  among  the  graduates  of  the  Naval 
Academy,  but  each  year  the  law  allows  a  num- 
ber, not  exceeding  twelve,  of  boatswains,  gun- 
ners, and  machinists,  who  may  be  able  to  qualify 
by  passing  the  prescribed  examinations  to  be 
commissioned  as  ensigns. 

All  midshipmen,  before  they  become  ensigns, 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  53 

must  have  passed  a  four  years'  course  on  proba- 
tion at  the  Naval  Academy,  at  Annapolis,  and 
two  years  at  sea  in  a  cruising  vessel.  Appoint- 
ments to  the  Naval  Academy  are  made  by  the 
President,  Senators,  and  Representatives.  The 
President  each  year  is  allowed  to  appoint  at 
large  five  midshipmen  to  Annapolis,  and  each 
Senator  and  Eepresentative  may  have  at  one 
time  two  midshipmen  from  his  respective  State 
or  District  at  the  Naval  Academy.  In  1913  this 
number  will  be  reduced  to  one  for  each  Senator 
and  Eepresentative.  The  age  of  the  candidates 
must  be  between  sixteen  and  twenty  years.  Can- 
didates, after  receiving  appointments  to  the 
Naval  Academy,  are  examined  thoroughly  as 
to  their  mental  and  physical  qualifications. 
Upon  passing  these  examinations  a  candidate 
is  admitted  to  the  Naval  Academy,  takes  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  becomes  a  midshipman. 
His  pay  is  $600  per  annum,  and  an  allowance 
is  made  him  of  thirty  cents  each  day  of  ration 
money.  Out  of  their  pay  and  allowance  mid- 
shipmen must  meet  the  cost  of  their  food,  cloth- 


54  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

ing,  laundry,  textbooks,  etc.,  and  they  are  re- 
quired to  keep  sufficient  money  to  their  credit 
to  purchase  an  outfit  upon  graduation.  Their 
pay  is  not  turned  over  to  the  midshipmen,  but 
their  accounts  are  kept,  and  all  authorized  ex- 
penses charged  to  them.  The  midshipmen  are 
allowed  to  draw  small  sums  for  pocket  money, 
and  when  they  go  on  the  one-month  leave 
granted  each  year,  usually  each  is  allowed  to 
draw  a  sufficient  amount  to  defray  his  traveling 
expenses  to  his  home. 

The  Naval  Academy  course  covers  four 
years;  the  studies  embrace  a  wide  range,  and 
are  very  difficult,  and  many  midshipmen  fail 
to  pass  the  semi-annual  examinations  and  are 
dropped.  Those  who  obtain  an  average  of  62y2 
per  cent,  in  each  branch  of  study  graduate  and 
receive  a  diploma  certifying  that  they  have  com- 
pleted the  course  of  studies.  If  a  midshipman's 
total  average  mark  for  the  four  years  is  more 
than  85  per  cent,  of  the  maximum,  the  words 
"  with  distinction  "  are  inserted  in  the  diploma. 
If  his  average  is  74  per  cent.,  he  is  stated  to 


J 

O2 

bO 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  55 

have  graduated  "  with  credit."  During  the 
four  years  at  the  Naval  Academy  the  corps  of 
midshipmen  is  taken  for  three  months,  each 
summer,  on  a  practice  cruise.  Formerly  these 
cruises  were  made  in  wooden  sailing  ships,  often 
to  Europe  and  Madeira ;  of  recent  years  modern 
men-of-war  have  been  utilized,  and  the  cruises 
have  been  along  the  coast,  and,  more  recently, 
abroad. 

Upon  graduation  midshipmen  are  assigned  to 
duty  afloat  on  board  regular  cruising  vessels, 
and  they  take  their  place  as  junior  officers  of 
these  ships  and  join  the  "  steerage  "  messes. 
They  are  required  to  continue  their  studies, 
especially  such  as  relate  to  practical  work  in 
navigation,  engineering,  and  ordnance.  At  the 
end  of  two  years  they  are  examined  again,  and 
the  marks  obtained  are  averaged  with  those  of 
the  four  years'  course  at  the  Naval  Academy, 
and  the  total  average,  made  by  each  midship- 
man, determines  the  order  in  which  he  will  take 
rank,  and  in  which  his  name  will  appear  through 
life  in  the  Navy  Eegister,  unless,  by  reason  of 


56  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

reward  or  punishment,  he  is  advanced  or  re- 
duced in  grade. 

When  officers  have  served  as  ensigns  for 
three  years,  they  are  promoted,  subject  to  their 
passing  a  thorough  examination,  to  be  lieuten- 
ants of  the  junior  grade,  after  which  they  can 
be  promoted  only  in  order  of  their  standing  on 
the  Navy  Eegister,  after  due  examination,  as 
vacancies  occur,  the  number  of  officers  allowed 
in  each  higher  grade  being  fixed  by  law.  At  the 
present  time  there  are  large  numbers  of  young 
officers  in  the  Navy,  and  when  these  are  pro- 
moted to  the  higher  grades  there  will  be  what 
is  called  a  "  hump," — a  number  of  officers  of 
about  the  same  age  filling  the  upper  grades  for 
several  years  before  retirement,  and  promotion 
will  become  very  slow. 

The  duties  that  may  be  performed  by  line  of- 
ficers of  each  grade  are  specified  by  the  Navy 
Regulations,  and  are  in  general  as  follows : — 

The  Admiral  of  the  Navy  may  command  a 
fleet  or  perform  other  duty  as  assigned  by  the 
Navy  Department. 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  57 

A  rear-admiral  may  command  a  fleet,  squad- 
ron, division,  or  a  naval  station. 

A  captain  may  command  a  division  or  a 
squadron,  a  naval  station,  a  battleship,  an 
armored  cruiser,  or  a  ship  not  rated,  or  be  chief 
of  staff  to  a  flag  officer. 

A  commander  may  command  a  division  or  a 
squadron,  a  naval  station,  a  battleship,  a  pro- 
tected cruiser  of  the  first  rate,  a  ship  of  the 
second  or  third  rate,  a  torpedo  destroyer  flotilla, 
or  a  ship  not  rated;  be  chief  of  staff  to  a  flag 
officer;  be  fleet  engineer  or  executive  officer  of 
a  battleship  or  armored  cruiser. 

A  lieutenant-commander  may  command  a 
ship  of  the  third  or  fourth  rate,  a  torpedo 
flotilla,  a  torpedo  destroyer,  or  a  ship  not  rated. 
He  may  serve  as  executive  officer,  navigator, 
ordnance  officer  or  engineer  officer  of  a  ship 
commanded  by  an  officer  of  superior  grade,  ex- 
cept a  battleship  or  armored  cruiser  commanded 
by  a  captain.  He  may  serve  also  as  fleet  ord- 
nance officer,  or  as  flag  secretary  on  the  staff 
of  a  commander-in-chief. 


58  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

A  lieutenant  may  command  a  ship  of  the 
fourth  rate,  or  torpedo  division,  a  torpedo  de- 
stroyer, torpedo  boat,  submarine,  tug,  tender, 
or  ship  not  rated.  He  may  serve  as  executive 
officer,  navigator,  ordnance  officer,  senior  en- 
gineer officer  or  watch  officer  in  a  ship  com- 
manded by  an  officer  of  superior  grade.  He 
also  may  be  flag  lieutenant,  or  aide  to  a  flag  of- 
ficer, or  secretary  to  the  admiral  while  on  sea 
service. 

A  lieutenant  (junior  grade)  may  command  a 
torpedo  boat,  submarine,  tug,  tender,  or  ship  not 
rated,  and  may  serve  as  executive  officer,  navi- 
gator, ordnance  officer,  senior  engineer  officer, 
or  watch  officer  in  a  ship  commanded  by  an 
officer  of  superior  grade.  He  may  be  flag 
lieutenant  or  aide  to  the  commander  of  a 
division. 

An  ensign  may  command  a  torpedo  boat, 
submarine,  tug  or  ship  not  rated,  and  may  serve 
as  executive  officer,  navigator,  ordnance  officer, 
senior  engineer  officer,  or  watch  officer  in  a  ship 
commanded  by  an  officer  of  superior  grade.  He 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  59 

may  be  aide  to  the  commander  of  a  squadron, 
or  the  captain  of  a  ship. 

A  midshipman  is  required  to  perform  such 
duty  afloat,  including  watch  and  division  duty, 
as  maybe  assigned  to  him.  He,  however,  may 
not  be  detailed  for  duty  as  an  aide  to  the  cap- 
tain, nor  on  the  personal  staff  of  a  flag  officer. 

Line  officers  perform  engineering  duties. 
Formerly  there  was  a  Corps  of  Engineers  in 
the  Navy,  but  the  Naval  Personnel  Act  of  1899 
amalgamated  the  Engineer  Corps  with  the  line, 
and  required  that  line  officers  should  perform 
engineering  duties  in  addition  to  their  other 
work.  A  line  officer,  therefore,  besides  being 
qualified  in  navigation  and  ordnance,  must  be  a 
skilled  engineer  capable  of  taking  charge  of  the 
complicated  machinery  of  a  modern  warship. 

STAFF  OFFICERS 

Medical  Corps. — The  members  of  the  Medical 
Corps  of  the  Navy  are  appointed  from  civil  life 
either  as  assistant  surgeons  or  acting  assistant 
surgeons.  Candidates  must  be  between  the 


60          THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

ages  of  twenty-one  and  thirty,  and  must  pass 
an  extremely  severe  professional  examination 
before  a  board  of  naval  surgeons.  Upon  being 
commissioned,  usually  they  are  detailed  to  take 
the  course  of  instruction  at  the  Naval  Medical 
School  in  Washington  and,  after  completing 
that,  they  are  assigned  to  general  duty  either 
as  assistant  to  the  surgeon  of  the  ship  on  a  sea- 
going vessel,  or  in  one  of  the  naval  hospitals 
or  navy  yards,  or  on  stations  where  there  is  a 
marine  detachment. 

Assistant  surgeons  rise  by  seniority  through 
the  successive  grades  of  passed  assistant 
surgeons,  surgeons,  medical  inspectors,  and 
medical  directors. 

The  officers  of  the  Medical  Corps  are  charged 
with  maintaining  the  health  of  the  personnel  of 
the  Navy  and  the  Marine  Corps. 

Paymasters. — The  members  of  the  Corps  of 
Paymasters  are  appointed  from  civil  life, 
preference  being  given  to  those  applicants  who 
have  had  some  experience  as  accountants.  Can- 
didates must  be  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  61 

and  twenty-six.  They  are  appointed  first  as  as- 
sistant paymasters,  and  are  detailed  for  duty 
on  one  of  the  larger  vessels  as  assistant 
to  the  paymaster  of  the  ship,  or  as  pay- 
master of  a  small  ship,  or  as  assistant  to 
the  general  storekeeper  in  one  of  the  navy 
yards. 

Assistant  paymasters  rise  by  seniority  to  be- 
come successively  passed  assistant  paymasters, 
paymasters,  pay  inspectors,  and  pay  directors. 

The  officers  of  the  Pay  Corps  are  charged 
with  disbursing  all  the  money  appropriated  for 
the  Navy,  and  with  the  purchase  and  care  of 
stores  of  all  kinds ;  also,  the  paymasters  of  ships 
are  commissary  officers,  and  general  storekeep- 
ers of  their  ships.  Members  of  the  Pay  Corps 
are  required,  as  disbursing  officers  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  custodians  of  public  funds,  to  file 
a  bond  for  the  faithful  performance  of  their 
duty. 

Naval  Constructors. — The  Corps  of  Naval  Con- 
structors is  the  only  corps  consisting  ex- 
clusively of  graduates  of  the  Naval  Academy, 


62  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

nearly  all  the  members  having  graduated  with 
distinction. 

Formerly  it  was  customary  to  send,  for  spe- 
cial instruction,  to  schools  in  England  and 
France,  such  midshipmen  as  were  selected  for 
assignment  to  the  Construction  Corps,  but  that 
plan  of  education  and  recruiting  the  Corps  has 
been  abandoned.  Selections  for  the  Corps  of 
Naval  Constructors  now  are  made  from  the 
class  of  midshipmen  upon  the  completion  of 
their  two  years'  cruise  after  graduation,  and 
they  are  sent  to  Boston  to  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology  to  take  a  three  years' 
special  course  in  naval  architecture. 

Officers  in  the  Construction  Corps  first  are 
commissioned  as  assistant  naval  constructors, 
rising  by  seniority,  after  service  of  not  less 
than  eight  nor  more  than  fourteen  years,  from 
the  status  of  assistant  to  that  of  naval  con- 
structor. 

The  naval  constructors  are  charged  with  the 
design,  construction,  and  repair  of  hulls  of 
naval  vessels. 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  63 

Professors  of  Mathematics. — The  members  of 
the  Corps  of  Professors  of  Mathematics  are 
appointed  from  among  officers  of  the  Navy  or 
from  civil  life.  They  are  assigned  either  to 
duty  at  the  Naval  Academy,  for  the  instruction 
of  the  midshipmen,  or  to  the  U.  S.  Naval 
Observatory  for  scientific  work  in  connec- 
tion with  the  preparation  of  the  "  Nautical 
Almanac,"  and  for  the  astronomical  work  that 
is  done  there.  They  are  appointed  by  the 
President,  who  selects  them  with  a  view  to  the 
duties  they  are  expected  to  perform. 

Civil  Engineers. — Members  of  the  Corps  of 
Civil  Engineers  are  appointed  from  graduates 
of  the  Naval  Academy,  or  from  civil  life,  as  as- 
sistant civil  engineers.  Candidates  must  be  be- 
tween the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  twenty-six 
years,  and  must  pass  a  professional  examination 
before  a  board  of  naval  civil  engineers.  They  are 
promoted  by  seniority  to  become  civil  engineers. 
These  officers  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  de- 
signing and  constructing  various  public  works 
for  the  Navy, 


64  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

Chaplains. — Chaplains  are  appointed  by  the 
President.  Candidates  must  be  between  the 
ages  of  twenty-one  and  thirty-five,  and  must  be 
regularly  ordained  ministers  of  good  standing 
in  their  denominations.  They  may  be  assigned 
to  duty  on  board  sea-going  ships,  or  at  navy 
yards,  or  stations.  They  are  permitted  to  con- 
duct public  worship  according  to  the  manner 
and  forms  of  the  churches  of  which  they  are 
members. 

Secretary.  —  Besides  the  above-mentioned 
Corps  of  Staff  Officers  there  is  allowed  as  Sec- 
retary to  the  Admiral  of  the  Navy,  in  the  event 
of  there  being  an  admiral,  a  staff  officer  with  the 
rank  of  lieutenant;  this  office  holds  only  during 
the  lifetime,  and  upon  the  recommendation  of, 
the  Admiral. 

WARRANT   OFFICERS 

The  warrant  officers  of  the  line  are  boat- 
swains, gunners,  and  machinists;  those  of  the 
staff  are  carpenters,  sailmakers,  and  pharma- 
cists. These  officers  are  appointed  or  "  war- 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  65 

ranted  "  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and, 
excepting  the  pharmacist,  after  six  years' 
service  as  warrant  officers  are  promoted 
and  receive  commissions  issued  by  the  Presi- 
dent, giving  them  a  rank  with  but  next 
after  ensign,  and  adding  the  prefix  "  chief  ' 
to  their  titles,  as  chief  boatswain,  chief 
gunner,  etc.  Candidates  for  appointment  as 
acting  warrant  officer  must  pass  an  examina- 
tion, before  a  board  of  officers,  to  demonstrate 
their  ability  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  posi- 
tion, preference  being  given  to  enlisted  men  of 
the  Navy  who  have  good  records.  After  serv- 
ing one  year  under  an  acting  appointment,  an 
acting  warrant  officer  is  eligible  to  receive  a 
permanent  warrant.  There  are  about  six  hun- 
dred warrant  officers,  the  greater  number  of 
whom  are  ex-enlisted  men. 

The  duties  of  the  warrant  officers  are  largely 
mechanical,  each  having  the  functions  indicated 
by  his  title,  and  being  a  specialist  in  that  line. 
It  is  possible  for  warrant  officers  to  become  en- 
signs by  being  nominated  and  passing  the  re- 


66  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

quired  examination,  and  thus  come  in  the  line 
of  promotion  for  higher  commissioned  rank  in 
the  Navy. 

ENLISTED  FORCE 

The  Navy  requires  men  of  varied  knowledge 
to  operate  its  ships.  These  men  are  enlisted  for 
a  term  of  four  years,  and  are  graded  and  paid 
according  to  their  capabilities.  Each  man  on 
enlistment  is  required  to  take  an  oath  binding 
himself  to  support  and  defend  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  against  all  enemies,  for- 
eign and  domestic,  and  to  give  true  faith  and 
allegiance  to  the  same.  Upon  expiration  of  en- 
listment, each  man,  if  recommended  by  his  cap- 
tain for  fidelity,  obedience,  and  ability,  receives 
an  honorable  discharge,  with  travel  allowance 
from  the  place  of  discharge  to  the  place  of  en- 
listment. If  he  presents  himself  for  re-enlist- 
ment at  a  recruiting  station  or  on  board  a  naval 
ship  within  four  months  from  date  of  discharge, 
he  is  entitled  to  be  paid  for  the  four  months 
at  his  regular  rate  of  pay,  and  is  further  en- 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  67 

titled  to  receive  increased  pay  for  each  re- 
enlistment  for  four  years. 

At  the  present  time  no  recruit  is  accepted  un- 
less he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  Men 
who  are  aliens  and  have  had  previous  service 
must  agree  to  take  out  citizenship  papers  be- 
fore re-enlistment.  More  than  96  per  cent,  of 
the  enlisted  force  of  the  Navy  at  the  present 
time  are  Americans,  there  being  no  place  in  the 
Navy  for  any  one  except  honest,  conscientious, 
capable  young  Americans. 

An  enlisted  man  is  designated  by  a  title  or 
rate  indicating  the  work  he  does.  The  desig- 
nations are:  Seaman,  carpenter's  mate,  machin- 
ist's mate,  plumber,  painter,  ship-fitter,  copper- 
smith, blacksmith,  quartermaster,  sailmaker, 
signalman,  gunner's  mate,  electrician,  yeoman, 
printer,  hospital  attendant,  laundryman,  musi- 
cian, steward,  baker,  mess  attendant,  cook,  and 
master-at-arms.  According  to  their  capabil- 
ities and  the  importance  of  the  work,  the  men 
are  graded  into  classes  as  follows :  Chief  petty 
officers,  first,  second,  and  third  class  petty  of- 


68  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

ficers.  Below  the  petty  officers  there  are  three 
other  grades,  the  designation  depending  on  the 
branch ;  for  instance,  in  the  seaman  branch,  the 
recruit  is  known  as  an  "  apprentice  seaman," 
his  next  promotion  being  to  "  ordinary  sea- 
man, ' '  and  then  to  * '  seaman. ' '  In  the  engineer 
branch  the  recruit,  unless  he  has  had  experience 
as  a  machinist,  is  a  "  coal  passer,"  and  is  pro- 
moted to  be  a  "  fireman,  second  class,"  and 
then  a  "  fireman,  first  class,"  and  then  is  eligi- 
ble to  be  promoted  to  be  an  oiler,  a  water  tender, 
or  a  machinist's  mate. 

Many  of  the  duties  required  of  enlisted  men 
are  such  that  special  training  is  necessary.  For 
this  purpose,  in  addition  to  the  training  sta- 
tions for  the  apprentice  seamen,  schools  are 
maintained  at  different  navy  yards  for  the 
training  of  enlisted  men  in  the  special  line  of 
work  for  which  they  have  demonstrated  fitness. 
The  training  given  is  thorough,  and  provides 
many  enlisted  men  with  a  trade  that  serves 
them  in  good  stead  if,  after  the  expiration  of 
their  enlistment,  they  decide  to  leave  the  Navy. 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  69 

Seamen. — All  newly  enlisted  men  in  the  sea- 
man branch  who  have  not  had  previous  service 
are  enlisted  with  the  grade  or  rating  of  "  ap- 
prentice seaman."  The  Navy  maintains  sev- 
eral training  stations  for  the  preliminary  in- 
struction of  such  recruits,  the  course  lasting 
four  months,  during  which  the  apprentice  sea- 
man is  given  lessons  in  the  elements  of  navy 
life  and  duties.  This  includes  teaching  him  to 
keep  his  outfit,  sleep  in  a  hammock,  swim,  row, 
sail  a  boat,  make  signals,  and  perform  various 
drills.  At  the  end  of  the  course  the  apprentice 
seaman,  who  may  be  promoted  to  be  an  ordinary 
seaman,  is  transferred  to  a  cruising  warship, 
where  he  enters  into  his  regular  duties  as  a 
man-of-war  's-man. 

An  enlisted  man  of  the  seaman  branch  is 
eligible  for  promotion  to  petty  officership,  to  be 
a  master-at-arms,  a  coxswain,  boatswain's  mate, 
gunner's  mate,  quartermaster,  gun  captain,  tur- 
ret captain,  or  electrician. 

There  are  at  the  Navy  Yard,  Washington,  and 
at  the  Torpedo  Station  at  Newport  schools  for 


70  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

seaman-gunners.  There  enlisted  men  who  show 
adaptability  for  the  work  are  instructed  so  that 
they  may  qualify  for  positions  as  gunner's 
mates  and  turret  and  gun  captains.  For  the 
training  of  electricians  there  are  schools  at  the 
Navy  Yards  at  New  York  and  Mare  Island. 
Men  to  go  to  these  latter  schools  must  be  elec- 
tricians by  trade  or  show  special  aptitude  for 
the  work. 

Engineer  Force. — There  are  two  divisions  in 
this  branch — that  of  the  engine  room  and  that 
of  the  fire  room.  In  the  former  there  are  chief 
machinist's  mates,  machinist's  mates,  first  and 
second  class,  and  oilers.  In  the  latter  there 
are  chief  water  tenders,  water  tenders,  firemen, 
first  and  second  class,  and  coal  passers. 

There  is  a  school  for  machinist's  mates  at 
the  Navy  Yard  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  where  men  in 
the  ratings  of  water  tender,  oiler,  and  firemen, 
first  class,  are  entitled  upon  re-enlistment  to  be 
sent  for  instruction  to  fit  them  for  advancement 
to  be  machinist  mates. 

Artificers. — This  branch  embraces  carpenter's 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  71 

mates,  shipwrights,  plumbers,  painters,  sail- 
maker's  mates,  shipfitters,  coppersmiths,  black- 
smiths and  boilermakers.  There  is  a  school  at 
the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard  where  men,  enlisted  in 
these  ratings,  are  taught  the  application  of  their 
trades  that  they  may  work  in  war  vessels.  The 
men  of  the  artificers  branch  are  rated  as  petty 
officers,  and  accordingly  they  receive  higher  pay, 
and  also  have  training  in  a  trade  that  can  be 
used  to  advantage  in  civil  life. 

Hospital  Corps. — This  branch  provides  apothe- 
caries, attendants,  and  nurses  for  the  naval  hos- 
pitals on  shore,  and  the  "  sick  bays  "  on  the 
men-of-war.  The  members  are  graded  as  hos- 
pital stewards  and  hospital  apprentices,  first 
and  second  class.  The  Hospital  Corps  Train- 
ing School,  located  at  the  Norfolk  Naval  Hos- 
pital, gives  the  recruits  ground  work  for  the 
study  of  medicine ;  they  are  taught  the  elements 
of  anatomy,  physiology,  pharmacy,  materia 
medica,  nursing,  cooking,  and  clerical  work,  and 
they  are  given  practical  instruction  in  the  care 
of  the  sick,  first  aid  to  the  injured,  etc. 


72 

Musicians. — These  are  enlisted  for  service 
in  bands,  one  of  which  is  stationed  on  each  large 
warship,  and  as  buglers.  They  are  rated 
as  bandmaster,  first  musician,  musician  first 
class,  musician  second  class,  and  bugler.  There 
are  schools  for  musicians  at  the  Navy  Yard, 
Norfolk,  and  at  the  Training  Station  at  New-j 
port.  There  is  a  special  band  at  the  Naval  Acad- 
emy, and  one  known  as  the  Marine  Band,  at, 
Washington.  The  latter  is  considered  by  many 
to  be  the  finest  military  band  in  the  country. 

Commissary  and  Messmen  Branch. — The  men  of 
the  commissary  branch  prepare  and  serve  the 
food  of  the  enlisted  men,  those  of  the  messmen 
branch  that  for  the  officers.  In  the  former  there 
are  two  grades  of  commissary  stewards,  four 
grades  of  ship's  cooks,  and  two  grades  of  bakers; 
in  the  latter  there  are  officers'  stewards,  cooks, 
and  mess  attendants.  All  of  these  are  enlisted 
men,  and  have  their  stations  at  quarters  just  as 
do  other  members  of  the  crew.  There  is  at 
the  Training  Station  at  Newport  a  class  for 
ship's  cooks  and  bakers. 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  73 

Clerical  Branch. — For  the  clerical  work  on 
board  ship  and  to  keep  an  account  of  the  stores 
there  are  chief  yeomen,  and  yeomen  first,  sec- 
ond, and  third  class;  some  of  these  must  be 
stenographers  and  typewriters,  others  must  be 
expert  bookkeepers  or  qualified  to  keep  the 
ship's  log.  At  Newport  and  San  Francisco 
there  are  yeoman's  training  schools,  where  re- 
cruits in  this  branch  are  instructed  in  the  cler- 
ical duties  which  they  will  be  called  on  to  per- 
form on  board  ship. 

The  pay  of  enlisted  men  is  comparatively 
high,  ranging  from  about  $100  per  month,  for 
certain  chief  petty  officers,  to  $18  for  apprentice 
seamen  and  landsmen.  In  addition  to  the  reg- 
ular pay  of  his  grade,  each  man  is  offered  the 
opportunity  of  earning  extra  pay  for  qualify- 
ing as  gun  pointer,  or  seaman  gunner,  or  by  per- 
forming special  duty,  such  as  signalman,  cox- 
swain of  steam  launches,  seamen  in  charge  of 
holds,  lamplighters,  etc.  Each  recruit  on  en- 
listment is  given  free  an  outfit  to  the  value  of 
$60.  Liberal  allowance  is  made  for  feeding  en- 


74  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

listed  men  and,  unlike  the  officers,  who  must 
meet  their  own  mess  bills,  they  are  well  fed  at 
the  public  expense. 

THE   MARINE   CORPS 

This  Corps  was  established  by  the  Continental 
Congress  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
since  has  taken  part  in  every  war  in  which  the 
country  has  been  engaged.  At  the  present  time 
the  duties  of  the  Marine  Corps  are  to  furnish 
guards  for  all  of  the  large  warships,  and  to 
form  garrisons  for  the  navy  yards  and  some  of 
the  colonial  dependencies,  as  Guam,  the  Philip- 
pines, and  the  Isthmian  Canal  Zone.  The 
marine  guard  on  one  of  the  largest  battleships 
consists  of  two  officers  and  about  seventy 
men.  They  perform  sentry  duty,  and  usually 
man  several  guns  of  the  secondary  bat- 
tery, and  are  available  for  landing  parties, 
etc. 

The  Marine  Corps  is  under  the  immediate 
control  of  the  Major-General  Commandant,  who 
is  himself  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  Secre- 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  75 

tary  of  the  Navy.  The  Marine  Corps,  notwith- 
standing it  is  under  the  Navy  Department, 
strictly  speaking,  cannot  be  considered  as  a 
part  of  the  Navy ;  its  officers  and  men  wear  dis- 
tinctive uniforms,  and  they  are  organized  on  a 
similar  basis  to  the  Army.  The  men  and  of- 
ficers receive  the  same  pay  and  allowances  as 
are  provided  by  law  for  the  Army,  and  the 
various  grades  correspond  to  those  in  the  Army. 
Thus,  among  the  enlisted  men  there  are:  Pri- 
vates, corporals,  sergeants,  first  sergeants, 
sergeants-major,  and  gunnery  sergeants,  and 
among  the  officers  there  are:  Second  and  first 
lieutenants,  captains,  majors,  lieutenant-colo- 
nels, colonels,  and  the  major-general  com- 
mandant. Each  grade  among  the  officers  cor- 
responds to  some  certain  grade  in  the  Navy,  and 
the  officers  take  rank  among  themselves  accord- 
ingly. 

Recruits  in  the  Marine  Corps  usually  are  sent 
to  the  barracks  at  one  of  the  navy  yards ;  there 
they  are  taught  the  elements  of  soldiering  be- 
fore being  assigned  to  a  regular  station  or  ship. 


76  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

Officers  of  the  Marine  Corps  formerly  have 
been  appointed  both  from  among  graduates  of 
the  Naval  Academy,  and  from  civil  life.  At  the 
present  time  appointments  are  being  made  from 
civil  life,  although  it  is  expected  shortly  to  re- 
sume the  practice  of  appointing  Naval  Academy 
graduates.  Applicants  for  appointment  from 
civil  life  as  second  lieutenants  of  marines  must 
be  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  twenty- 
seven  years,  and  they  are  required  to  pass  a 
thorough  mental  and  physical  examination. 
After  appointment  usually  they  are  detailed  to 
take  the  course  of  instruction  at  the  Marine 
Corps  School  of  Application,  now  at  the  Naval 
Station,  Port  Royal,  S.  C.  The  Marine  Corps 
consists  of  about  300  officers  and  10,000  enlisted 
men,  of  whom  approximately  one-third  perform 
duty  on  board  ship,  the  remainder  being  sta- 
tioned at  various  naval  stations. 

RETIREMENT 

Officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the  Navy  have 
the  privilege  of  retiring  from  active  service  un- 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  77 

der  certain  conditions.  Officers  may  be  retired 
for  disability  incurred  in  the  line  of  duty,  or 
after  the  completion  of  thirty  years'  service. 
When  officers  reach  the  age  of  sixty-two  years 
they  are  obliged  to  retire.  Enlisted  men  may 
retire  after  having  served  thirty  years,  if  they 
desire.  Eetired  officers  and  men  receive  three- 
quarters  pay,  while  enlisted  men  receive,  in 
addition,  allowances  for  quarters  and  sub- 
sistence. 

NAVAL  MILITIA 

The  Naval  Militia  now  is  organized  only  un- 
der the  laws  of  various  States,  in  all  about 
twenty-three,  and  consists  of  about  600  com- 
missioned and  warrant  officers,  and  about  7,000 
petty  officers  and  men.  The  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, through  the  Navy  Department,  ex- 
tends aid  and  encouragement  to  the  various  or- 
ganizations so  far  as  it  is  possible  in  the  absence 
of  any  general  law  regarding  a  Naval  Militia. 
An  appropriation  of  $100,000,  increased  re- 
cently to  $125,000,  has  been  made  annually  for 


78  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

providing  arms  and  equipment  to  all  of  the 
various  organizations.  This  meager  allowance 
has  been  supplemented  indirectly  by  the  De- 
partment in  loaning  naval  vessels,  boats,  and 
other  equipment  to  the  States  for  use  in  train- 
ing their  organizations. 

The  necessity  for  a  law  regarding  an  organ- 
ized national  naval  militia  or  reserve  is  gen- 
erally recognized,  as  in  time  of  war  many  ves- 
sels are  fitted  out  in  addition  to  those  regularly 
in  commission.  The  needed  crews  could  not  be 
obtained  at  haphazard,  and  there  must  be  some 
source  of  supply  from  which  to  draw  the  men 
and  officers  having  the  necessary  training.  Sec- 
retary Long,  in  his  annual  report  for  the  year 
1901,  submitted  strong  recommendations,  based 
on  experience  during  the  Spanish  War,  for  the 
establishment  of  a  national  naval  reserve.  Suc- 
ceeding Secretaries  have  repeated  his  recom- 
mendations, which  were  as  follows: — 

"  I  have  to  call  attention  again  to  the  pressing  need 
of  a  national  reserve  force  from  which  to  draw  for  sea 
service  immediately  upon  an  outbreak  of  war.  This 


THE  NAVY'S  PERSONNEL  79 

subject  has  received  attention  in  previous  reports,  and 
recommendations  have  been  made  for  the  enrolment 
and  organization  of  such  a  national  body,  to  be  under 
the  general  direction  of  the  Navy  Department  and  sub- 
ject to  the  call  of  the  Chief  Executive  in  times  of  na- 
tional emergency. 

"  The  results  of  the  Spanish- American  War  were 
such  as  to  assure  every  one  having  knowledge  of  naval 
matters  that  steps  should  be  taken  at  once  to  meet 
the  one  certain  and  positive  requirement  which  will 
face  the  nation  upon  an  outbreak  of  war — the  immedi- 
ate necessity  at  that  exigent  time,  if  it  comes,  of  a 
large  increase  in  the  men  of  the  Navy  from  an  exist- 
ing reserve — an  increase  which  must,  in  the  main,  be 
made  from  the  seafaring  class,  who,  having  acquired 
the  habit  of  the  sea,  are  at  home  on  the  water.  There 
is  no  better  way  of  insuring  such  a  reserve  than  by  the 
measure  now  urged. 

' '  Our  pressing  need  is  for  such  a  reserve — a  body  to 
go  to  the  front  on  board  ship  at  once  upon  the  out- 
break of  war,  or  when  it  is  imminent." 

The  Naval  Militia  organizations,  as  they  exist 
at  the  present  time,  consist  of  earnest  men  who 
desire  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  patriotic 
duty  of  rendering  service  to  the  country  in  time 
of  war.  These  men  deserve  all  encouragement, 


80  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

and  should  be  placed  on  a  proper  status  as  re- 
gards their  relations  to  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, which  they  are  preparing  themselves 
to  serve.  This  has  been  done  already  for  the 
land  militia  by  a  law  enacted  in  1903. 

The  Navy  Department  has  loaned  a  number 
of  vessels  with  skeleton  crews  from  the  Navy 
for  use  in  training  several  of  the  various  State 
organizations.  Annually  a  cruise  of  vessels, 
loaned  to  the  Naval  Militia,  is  held  for  instruc- 
tion purposes.  Also  a  number  of  the  battleships 
of  the  Atlantic  Fleet  are  assigned  to  take  out 
the  various  organizations  for  drill  and  practical 
experience. 


The  gun-boat  Don  Juan  de  Austria,  captured  from  the  Spaniards 
at  Manila  Bay.     Now  in  use  by  the  Michigan  Naval  Militia 


The  gun-boat  Yorktown 


CHAPTER  IV 
MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION 

THERE  is  a  certain  ceremonious  routine  which 
must  be  observed  in  commissioning  a  man-of- 
war.  The  vessel  is  placed  in  commission  by 
the  officials  of  the  navy  yard  in  which  it  is 
built,  or  to  which  it  is  delivered  by  the  builder. 
The  Captain  of  the  Yard,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Commandant,  usually  has  charge  of  the 
ceremony.  The  Captain,  officers,  and  crew  of 
the  ship  assemble  on  the  quarter  deck  at  an  ap- 
pointed hour,  the  order  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  directing  that  the  ship  be  commissioned 
is  read,  the  colors  and  the  commission  pennant 
are  then  hoisted,  the  band  plays  the  national  air, 
and  the  ship  is  "  in  commission." 

After  the  commissioning  it  devolves  upon  the 
officers  and  crew  to  prepare  the  ship  for  sea. 
Stores,  coal,  and  ammunition  must  be  taken 

81 


82  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

aboard,  stations  and  duties  must  be  learned, 
and  the  daily  routine  of  a  man-of-war  estab- 
lished; station  bills  assigning  duties  and  sta- 
tions to  each  member  of  the  crew  having  been 
prepared  in  advance.  Each  man  is  assigned 
to  a  division,  under  the  charge  of  a  division 
officer.  Midshipmen  are  assigned  to  the  vari- 
ous divisions  as  junior  officers,  and  they  aid 
the  division  officers  in  the  drilling  and  instruct- 
ing the  men. 

The  crew  for  a  ship  about  to  go  into  com- 
mission usually  is  assembled  somewhat  in  ad- 
vance on  the  receiving  ship  at  the  navy  yard. 
This  permits  the  men  to  be  drilled  together  and 
organized  into  a  ship's  company  before  the  ship 
actually  is  commissioned.  They  are  drafted 
from  the  various  training  stations  and  receiving 
ships,  as  may  be  necessary  to  form  the  required 
complement. 

When  the  ship  is  ready  for  sea,  sailing  orders 
are  sent  to  the  Captain,  and  he  proceeds  to  sea 
for  a  so-called  "  shaking  down  "  cruise,  which 
is  intended  to  shake  down  every  officer  and  man 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          83 

to  a  proper  understanding  of  his  duties,  and  so 
that  all  may  accustom  themselves  to  the  ship. 
The  following  list  of  the  various  branches 
gives  the  complement  of  men  and  officers  for  a 
27,000-ton  battleship,  a  14,500-ton  armored 
cruiser,  and  for  a  9,700-ton  protected  cruiser : — 


BATTLESHIP 


ARMORED   PROTECTED 
CRUISER    CRUISER 

Wardroom  officers  24  18  18 

Junior              "  39  16  8 

Warrant          "  14  8  7 

Seaman  branch  (and  ratings)  485  418  283 

Engine-room  force  274  298  278 

Artificer  branch  58  43  35 

Commissary  branch  18  17  14 

Messmen  33  29  24 
Special  branch  (yeomen,  hospital 

attendants,  and  musicians)  38  37  16 

Additional  for  flagship  48  23  37 

Marine  guard  77  67  52 

1108  974  772 

SHIP  ORGANIZATION 

The  commanding  officer  or  captain  of  a  war- 
ship, under  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  has  con- 
trol of  its  movements  and  is  held  accountable 
for  accidents  and  similar  incidents.  As  has 
been  seen,  the  Captain  has  the  right  to  adjudge 
limited  punishment  and  imprisonment  for  mis- 
behavior. The  next  below  the  Captain,  is  the 


84  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

executive  officer,  who  has  the  rank  of  com- 
mander on  battleships  and  armored  cruisers, 
and  lower  rank  on  other  vessels,  depending  on 
the  rank  of  the  commanding  officer.  He  is,  as 
his  title  indicates,  the  representative  of  the 
Captain  in  executing  his  orders  and  in  main- 
taining the  military  and  general  efficiency  of  the 
ship.  He  succeeds  to  the  command  of  the  ship 
in  the  absence  or  death  of  the  Captain.  In  time 
of  battle  he  is  fire-control  officer,  and  as  such  di- 
rects and  controls  the  fire  of  the  guns,  subject  to 
the  orders  of  the  Captain. 

On  board  battleships  and  armored  cruisers, 
an  officer  of  the  rank  of  lieutenant-commander 
or  lieutenant  is  assigned  as  "  first  lieutenant." 
This  officer  generally  is  next  in  rank  to  the  ex- 
ecutive officer,  but  always  is  senior  to  the  watch 
officers.  The  first  lieutenant  is  charged  with 
the  cleanliness,  good  order,  and  efficiency  of  the 
ship,  and  is  thus  the  "  housekeeper."  In  time 
of  battle  he  assists  the  executive  officer  in  his 
duties  as  fire-control  officer. 

On  board  vessels  to  which  no  first  lieutenant 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          85 

is  assigned,  the  executive  officer  performs  the 
duties  usually  assigned  to  that  officer. 

Next  below  the  first  lieutenant  is  the  nav- 
igator, whose  duty  consists  in  navigating  the 
ship  when  at  sea.  Also,  he  has  charge  of  the 
chronometers.  In  case  of  the  absence  or  death 
of  the  Captain  and  executive  officer,  the  com- 
mand of  the  ship  succeeds  to  the  first  lieuten- 
ant or  to  the  navigator,  whichever  is  senior,  and 
so  on  down  the  list,  the  senior  line  officer  pres- 
ent always  assuming  command.  In  time  of  bat- 
tle the  navigator  is  ship-control  officer,  and  is 
stationed  in  the  conning  tower  to  assist  the  com- 
manding officer  in  handling  the  ship. 

The  ordnance  officer,  who  ranks  next  to  the 
navigator,  has  charge  of  the  guns  and  am- 
munition. Upon  him  devolves  the  responsibil- 
ity of  conducting  target  practice,  and  to  his  ef- 
forts is  due  largely  the  credit  for  a  satisfactory 
showing  in  that  direction.  Under  modern  con- 
ditions the  duties  of  the  ordnance  officer  are 
very  important  and  arduous. 

Next  below  the  ordnance  officer  is  the  senior 


86  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

engineer  officer,  known  usually  as  the  chief  en- 
gineer. He  has  charge  of  the  engines  and  boil- 
ers, the  electrical  generating  plant,  and  auxil- 
iaries operated  by  steam.  Under  him  is  the  en- 
gineer division,  which  consists  of  the  fire-room 
and  engine-room  forces,  and  constitutes  a  large 
percentage  of  the  ship's  company. 

Below  the  chief  engineer  in  rank  are  the 
"  watch  and  division  "  officers,  whose  duties 
consist  of  taking  charge  of  their  respective 
divisions  during  drills,  and  of  standing  deck- 
watch  in  turn.  When  at  sea  the  officer  on 
watch,  or  the  officer  of  the  deck,  as  he  is  called, 
stays  on  the  bridge  and  has  charge  of  the  ship, 
complying  with  instructions  received  from  the 
Captain  or  navigator  as  to  speed,  course  to  be 
steered,  etc.  In  port  the  officer  of  the  deck 
stands  his  watch  on  the  quarter-deck.  The  of- 
ficer of  the  deck  is  the  officer  on  watch  in  charge 
of  the  ship,  and  is  regarded  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Captain,  and  his  orders  have  to  be 
obeyed  accordingly. 

Midshipmen  are  assigned  to  duty  as  junior 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          87 

officers  of  the  deck,  and  to  assist  various  divi- 
sion officers  in  drills,  etc. 

All  the  above-mentioned  are  line  officers. 

The  staff  officers  of  the  ship  consist  of  the 
surgeon  and  assistant  surgeons,  the  paymaster, 
assistant  paymaster,  and  pay  clerks.  Staff  of- 
ficers have  their  specified  duties  as  indicated  by 
their  titles,  and,  in  case  of  the  absence  or  death 
of  all  the  line  officers,  would  succeed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  ship,  in  order  of  rank.  The  pay- 
master also  is  the  commissary  officer  and  the 
ship's  general  storekeeper,  and  has  charge  of 
messing  the  crew  and  cares  for  all  stores  on  the 
ship. 

The  Captain  is  quartered  in  the  cabin,  and 
maintains  his  own  table,  or  mess,  as  it  is  called. 
The  executive,  navigator,  ordnance  officer,  chief 
engineer,  watch  and  divisions  officers,  and  the 
surgeon,  paymaster,  marine  officers,  and  their 
assistants,  above  the  rank  of  ensign,  are  quar- 
tered in  the  wardroom,  and  maintain  the  ward- 
room mess. 

Ensigns  who  are  not  watch  and  division  of- 


88  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

ficers,  and  midshipmen  and  staff  officers  of  the 
rank  of  ensign,  are  quartered  in  the  junior  of- 
ficers' quarters,  and  maintain  the  junior  of- 
ficers' mess,  commonly  called  the  "  steerage." 

Warrant  officers  maintain  a  separate  mess, 
which  is  called  the  warrant  officers'  mess. 

Except  the  chief  petty  officers,  who  maintain 
a  separate  mess  frequently,  all  the  enlisted  men 
are  fed  out  of  the  general  mess,  which  is  run 
by  the  ship's  commissary,  usually  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  paymaster.  All  officers  must  pay 
for  their  own  food,  no  allowance  being  made 
them  for  this  purpose.  Each  enlisted  man  is 
allowed  a  ration  which  has  a  value  of  about 
thirty-six  cents  per  day.  These  rations  are 
pooled,  and  all  the  men  are  fed  from  it.  The 
ration  allowance  is  liberal,  and  enlisted  men  of 
the  United  States  Navy  are  fed  extremely  well. 
The  men  are  assigned  to  messes  by  divisions, 
mess  tables  being  placed  about  the  decks  wher- 
ever there  is  available  space;  when  not  in  use 
they  are  hung  out  of  the  way  to  the  deck  above. 

The  problem  of  providing  and  serving  food 


e 

a. 


I 


.2* 
" 


P3 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          89 

for  800  or  1,000  men  on  board  ship,  away  from 
source  of  supplies,  is  by  no  means  simple.  Each 
of  the  large  ships  is  fitted  with  a  cold  storage 
plant,  and  with  electrically  driven  meat  grind- 
ers, potato  peelers,  ice  cream  freezers,  and  dish- 
washers. A  bakery,  of  adequate  size,  for  sup- 
plying fresh  bread,  and  laundry  machinery  of 
capacity  to  wash  the  clothes  of  the  officers,  are 
provided. 

FLEET   ORGANIZATION 

Battleships  and  armored  cruisers,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  formed  into  fleets,  which  are  divided 
into  squadrons  and  divisions  for  drilling  in  fleet 
tactics.  The  Rear- Admiral,  in  command  of  the 
fleet,  squadron,  or  division,  has  assigned  to  him 
one  of  the  ships,  as  flagship.  He  occupies  quar- 
ters on  board,  separate  from  the  Captain,  and 
maintains  his  own  mess,  usually  in  connection 
with  the  officers  of  his  personal  staff.  Each 
rear-admiral  transmits  the  orders  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  to  the  ships  of  his  own  divi- 
sion, and  is  responsible  for  maneuvering  them 


90  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

properly  in  the  various  tactics.  In  case  of  the 
absence  or  death  of  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
the  supreme  command  of  the  fleet  would  devolve 
upon  the  senior  of  the  rear-admirals,  and  so 
on  in  turn  through  the  other  rear-admirals  and 
the  captains  of  the  various  ships,  in  order  of 
rank.  At  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  after  the 
death  of  Lord  Nelson,  his  second  officer  in  com- 
mand, Vice-Admiral  Collingwood,  succeeded  to 
the  command  of  the  English  fleet. 

At  stated  intervals  each  commander  of  a  ship 
or  division  inspects  the  ships  under  him.  Cer- 
tain specified  drills  are  carried  out,  and  upon 
the  efficiency  displayed  and  the  condition  of  the 
ship  depends  the  report  of  inspection  forwarded 
to  the  Navy  Department. 

The  staff  of  a  rear-admiral  in  command  of  a 
fleet  consists  of  a  chief-of-staff,  who  is  an  of- 
ficer with  the  rank  of  captain  or  commander,  a 
flag  secretary,  and  a  flag  lieutenant,  and  an  aide. 
In  addition  there  are  a  fleet  ordnance  officer,  a 
fleet  engineer,  a  fleet  surgeon,  a  fleet  paymaster, 
a  fleet  marine  officer,  and  a  fleet  athletic  officer. 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          91 

Each  of  these  officers,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  maintains  supervision  of 
his  particular  department  in  all  the  vessels  of 
the  fleet.  Each  of  the  junior  rear-admirals, 
commanding  squadrons  or  divisions,  has  a  flag 
lieutenant  and  a  flag  secretary.  These  officers 
are  aides  to  the  rear-admirals  and  assist  them 
in  the  performance  of  their  duties. 

SIGNALS,  FLAGS,  ETC. 

Communication  may  be  carried  on  among 
ships  of  the  Navy  in  a  number  of  ways,  either 
by  wireless  telegraph,  by  visual  signals,  with 
flags  or  semaphores  by  day,  or  by  electric  lights, 
Roman  candles,  or  rockets  by  night.  In  foggy 
weather  sound  signals  made  on  the  whistle  or 
bell  are  used.  For  official  messages,  orders, 
etc.,  the  wireless  telegraph  is  used  generally. 
For  tactical  drill  signals,  and  for  ordinary  com- 
munication between  ships  not  having  wireless 
outfits,  visual  signals  are  used  most  generally. 

The  semaphore  signals,  which  are  made  either 
by  means  of  a  semaphore  with  wooden  arms,  or 


92  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

by  the  motions  of  the  arms  of  the  signalmen 
themselves,  are  used  for  spelling  out  messages. 
Semaphore  signals,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
seeing  them,  are  not  effective  at  any  consider- 
able distance. 

Flag  signals  may  be  read  many  miles  away, 
and  ships  are  said  to  be  within  signal  distance 
when  it  is  possible  to  make  out  flag  signals. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  signal  flags,  the  alpha- 
betical code  flags  and  the  numeral  flags.  The 
alphabetical  code  flags  are  the  same  as  the  In- 
ternational Code.  By  their  use,  with  reference 
to  the  international  signal  books,  ships  of  any 
nation  or  language  can  communicate.  The  nu- 
meral flags  are  used  for  tactical  and  routine 
signals. 

Every  ship  flies  flags  of  especial  significance. 
Men-of-war  carry  the  flag  of  their  country  at 
the  peak  or  on  a  flag-pole  at  the  stern.  In  Eng- 
land the  man-of-war  flag  is  white,  with  the  red 
cross  of  St.  George  and  the  union-jack  in  the 
corner,  the  naval  reserve  flag  is  blue,  and  the 
merchant  ship  flag  is  red.  In  the  United  States, 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          93 

however,  no  such  distinction  is  made;  all  ships 
carry  the  national  ensign,  which  has  thirteen 
red  and  white  stripes,  and  a  blue  ground  with  a 
star  for  every  State.  The  union-jack  is  carried 
at  the  bow  when  at  anchor  only.  A  flag  is  car- 
ried at  the  masthead  to  show  the  rank  of  the  of- 
ficer in  command,  thus:  an  admiral  has  a  blue 
flag  with  four  stars,  a  rear-admiral  a  blue  one 
with  two  stars,  and  the  senior  commanding  of- 
ficer present,  where  there  is  no  flag  officer,  a 
blue  triangular  flag.  The  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  each  has  a  distinctive  flag 
which  is  flown  by  a  man-of-war,  if  any  of  these 
officials  is  on  board,  to  indicate  his  presence. 
Besides  the  flags  mentioned,  there  are  a  great 
many  others  carried  by  men-of-war,  a  complete 
knowledge  of  which  is  a  study  by  itself. 

At  night  signals  are  made  by  the  * '  winker  ' ' 
light,  by  flashing  different  combinations  of  red 
and  white  electric  lights,  each  light  and  com- 
bination of  lights  indicating  a  letter,  or  by  the 
Very  night  signals,  which  consist  of  rockets  and 


94  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

green  and  red  stars,  like  Roman  candles,  dis- 
charged into  the  air.  Signals  may  be  made  at 
night  by  illuminating  the  arms  of  the  sema- 
phore or  by  means  of  the  rays  of  a  searchlight. 
Signal  men  acquire  great  skill  in  making  and 
reading  signals;  the  celerity  with  which  their 
work  is  done  is  taken  as  an  index  of  the  ' l  smart- 
ness "  of  the  ship. 

SHIP   ROUTINE 

Routine  on  board  ship  may  be  classed  as  daily 
routine  and  weekly  routine,  and  is  systematic- 
ally followed  on  all  vessels  of  a  fleet.  It  is  fixed 
by  the  Commander-in-Chief,  who  decides  each 
day  what  shall  be  the  uniform,  whether  white 
clothes  or  blue,  and  what  drills  and  exercises 
shall  be  carried  out.  Usually  special  drills  are 
assigned  for  each  day  of  the  week,  though  these 
may  be  varied  on  occasion.  This  is  called  the 
weekly  routine. 

With  only  occasional  exceptions,  the  daily 
routine  is  as  follows:  all  the  men  and  certain 
of  the  officers  are  called  at  five  o'clock;  the 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          95 

men,  after  having  been  served  coffee  and  cocoa, 
clean  decks,  paint-work,  boat  gear,  wash  their 
clothes,  etc.  At  7 :30  the  crew  goes  to  breakfast. 
At  8  o'clock  "  colors  "  is  sounded,  and  all 
hands  stand  at  attention  while  the  ensign  is  be- 
ing hoisted  and  the  national  air  played  by  the 
band.  At  9:30  the  divisions  are  inspected  at 
quarters,  and  the  forenoon  is  passed  in  drills  or 
exercises.  At  12  dinner  is  served,  and  after 
that  is  finished  afternoon  drills  are  gone 
through.  At  sunset  * '  evening  colors  ' '  are  held 
and  the  ensign  lowered.  At  5:30  supper  is 
served,  at  7 :30  hammocks  are  given  out,  and  at 
9  o'clock,  the  flagship  fires  the  evening  gun, 
"  taps  "  is  sounded,  and  all  hands,  except  those 
on  watch,  must  turn  into  their  hammocks.  Of- 
ficers and  others  having  special  watches  are  not 
affected  by  the  routine  hours  for  turning  out  in 
the  morning  and  turning  in  at  night. 

Athletics  are  encouraged;  the  men  are  helped 
to  form  football  and  baseball  teams,  and  boat 
crews,  and  to  have  matches  between  different 
ships.  Trophies  are  provided  for  the  winning 


96  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

teams  of  each  fleet,  and  a  healthy  state  of  ri- 
valry in  athletics  exists  among  the  crews  of  the 
different  ships.  Match  games  also  are  ar- 
ranged with  outside  organizations,  and  many 
amateur  baseball  and  football  teams  can  testify 
to  the  excellence  of  the  teams  from  the  men- 
of-war. 

Clubhouses  for  enlisted  men  have  been  estab- 
lished in  several  of  the  larger  cities;  in  these 
liberty  men  can  find  amusements,  as  well  as 
food  and  lodging. 

Life  on  shipboard  is  not  rigorous,  and  the 
men  are  well  looked  after,  are  given  reasonable 
opportunity  to  go  ashore  when  off  duty,  and  are 
well  fed  and  clothed,  and  provided  with  com- 
fortable, well-ventilated  quarters.  Any  monot- 
ony that  may  be  about  the  ship  routine  is  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  constant  change  of  scene 
and  climate.  When  sick,  the  men  are  placed  in 
comfortable  sick  quarters,  and  receive  the  best 
medical  attention  and  nursing. 

The  drills  are  of  different  character  and  de- 
signed to  prepare  the  crew  for  various  duties. 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          97 

The  most  common  is  "  general  quarters,"  when 
the  guns  are  manned  and  the  men  rehearsed  in 
their  duties  for  a  battle.  Fire  drill,  boat  drill, 
battalion  drill  as  infantry  or  light  artillery 
ashore,  collision  drill,  abandon  ship,  landing 
force,  swimming,  signaling,  steering,  sounding, 
etc.,  are  other  drills  that  make  a  part  of  the 
weekly  routine. 

The  enlisted  men  are  paid  once  a  month  and 
are  granted  liberty  to  go  ashore  when  their  be- 
havior has  been  such  as  to  justify  according 
that  privilege,  and  when  their  services  can  be 
spared  from  the  necessary  ship-work.  In  this 
respect  there  has  been  a  great  change  from  the 
old  Navy.  Then  it  was  not  possible  to  pay  the 
men  at  regular  intervals,  many  months  some- 
times elapsing  between  pay  days,  while  cruises 
of  several  months'  duration  were  made  without 
the  men  being  allowed  ashore.  In  old  Navy 
times,  or  up  to  about  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago, 
a  man-of-war's  man  would  land  with  his  pocket 
full  of  money,  get  into  the  hands  of  the  numer- 
ous land-sharks,  and  in  a  few  days  he  would  find 


98  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

himself  penniless.  The  American  bluejacket  of 
the  present  is  a  self-respecting  citizen,  amply 
able  to  take  care  of  himself  and  his  money. 

Arrangements  are  made  so  that  any  person 
in  the  Navy  can  allot  a  portion  of  his  pay  to  his 
wife,  dependent  relative,  or  other  person  at 
home,  with  the  assurance  that  it  will  be  paid 
regularly,  no  matter  where  he  himself  may  be. 

TARGET  PRACTICE 

Target  practice  is  one  of  the  essential  features 
of  the  preparation  for  war,  as  no  shots  count 
except  those  that  hit.  It  is  designed  to  afford 
a  practice  for  the  gun-pointers,  in  their  im- 
portant duties  of  aiming  and  firing  the  guns, 
and  for  the  gun  crews,  in  reloading  the  guns 
after  each  shot,  and  for  the  "  spotters  "  in 
determining  the  ranges,  thus  developing  a  ship's 
ability  to  hit  an  enemy  rapidly  with  all  guns 
firing. 

By  a  system  of  preparation  and  practice, 
adopted  in  1902,  the  accuracy  and  rapidity  of 
fire  of  naval  gunners  has  been  increased  to  a 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION          99 

wonderful  degree.  This  system  consists  first 
in  training  the  men  in  pointing  the  guns  by 
means  of  the '  *  dotter  ' '  and  the  *  *  Morris  tube  ' ' 
attachments  to  the  guns,  which  enable  the  point- 
ers to  practise  aiming  at  a  small  target,  and  to 
familiarize  themselves  with  operating  the 
mechanism  of  the  guns.  Later,  shots  are  fired 
from  each  gun  at  a  full-size  target  placed  at 
some  distance  from  the  ship. 

As  a  final  step  in  the  course  of  instruction, 
battle  practice  is  held;  during  that  all  guns  are 
fired  at  a  moving  target  at  an  unknown  distance 
from  the  moving  ship,  which  is  maneuvered  as 
in  battle. 

The  result  of  the  annual  record  target  prac- 
tice determines  which  ship  of  each  class  shall 
have  the  trophy;  the  desire  to  secure  it  creates 
a  great  and  healthy  rivalry  among  the  various 
ships'  companies.  In  addition  to  the  incentive 
of  a  trophy,  the  men  are  encouraged  to  become 
qualified  gun-pointers  by  extra  pay  and  priv- 
ileges offered  to  those  who  qualify. 

An  important  feature  of  target  practice  is 


100         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

the  fire-control  system,  by  which  the  range  is 
transmitted  to  the  sight-setters  at  each  gun, 
and  the  fall  of  the  shots  "  spotted,"  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  range  is  "  over  "  or  "  short." 
The  fire-control  towers,  or  cage  masts,  as  they 
are  called,  are  intended  to  provide  suitable  sta- 
tions from  which  the  spotters  can  see  the  fall 
of  the  shots.  By  means  of  telephones  and  voice 
tubes  they  transmit  the  results  of  their  ob- 
servation to  the  fire-control  officers,  who  in  turn 
transmit  the  range  to  the  sight-setters. 

UNIFORM 

All  persons  in  the  naval  service  are  required 
to  wear  uniform  on  shipboard,  when  on  duty  in 
navy  yards,  and  on  certain  other  occasions. 
Each  grade  has  distinctive  uniforms  and  marks 
to  indicate  duties,  rank,  etc.  There  are  differ- 
ent uniforms  for  occasions  of  ceremony,  for 
ordinary  wear,  and  for  work,  and  white  uni- 
forms for  warm  weather. 

Officers  have  special  full  dress,  full  dress, 
evening  dress,  mess  dress,  and  white  and  blue 


?.  re- 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        101 

service  dress  uniforms.  Each  uniform  is  in- 
tended for  particular  occasions.  The  senior  of- 
ficer present  designates  the  uniform  to  be  worn 
each  day,  and  on  special  occasions,  in  order 
that  all  officers  may  appear  in  the  same  dress. 
The  rank  of  an  officer  is  indicated  by  stripes 
of  gilt,  so-called ' '  lace  ' '  or  braid  on  his  sleeves ; 
the  higher  the  rank,  the  greater  the  number  of 
stripes.  Thus  an  officer  with  the  rank  of  ensign 
has  one  stripe,  while  a  lieutenant  has  two 
stripes.  A  captain  has  four  stripes  on  each 
sleeve.  The  corps  to  which  an  officer  belongs 
is  indicated  for  a  line  officer  by  a  star  on  each 
sleeve  above  the  stripes,  and  for  a  staff  officer 
by  colored  cloth  between  the  gold  lace  stripes. 
These  colors  are  different  for  each  staff  corps 
and  are  as  follows :  dark  maroon  velvet  for 
surgeons,  white  cloth  for  paymasters,  olive- 
green  cloth  for  professors  of  mathematics,  dark 
violet  cloth  for  naval  constructors,  and  light- 
blue  velvet  for  civil  engineers.  In  addition  to 
the  stripes  on  the  sleeve  the  rank  and  corps  are 
indicated  by  devices  on  the  collar  of  the  service 


102         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

blouse  and  on  the  shoulder  straps  and  epaulets 
of  dress  uniforms.  The  corps  devices  consist 
of  an  anchor  for  line  officers  and  various  forms 
of  oak  leaves  for  the  different  branches  of  the 
staff  corps.  The  rank  is  indicated  further  on 
the  collar  of  the  service  blouse  and  on  shoulder 
straps  and  epaulets:  no  mark  for  a  midship- 
man or  ensign,  one  bar  for  a  lieutenant,  junior 
grade,  two  bars  for  a  lieutenant,  a  gold  leaf  for 
a  lieutenant-commander,  a  silver  leaf  for  a  com- 
mander, an  eagle  for  a  captain,  one  star  for  a 
commodore,  two  stars  for  a  rear-admiral,  three 
stars  for  a  vice-admiral,  and  four  stars  for  the 
admiral. 

The  sword  is  worn  by  all  commissioned  and 
warrant  officers  as  a  part  of  dress  uniforms 
and  on  certain  occasions,  such  as  infantry  drills, 
parades,  and  when  on  military  duty.  Epau- 
lets and  shoulder  straps  are  worn  only  by  com- 
missioned officers. 

The  mourning  badge  is  worn  by  officers  when 
attending  funerals  in  uniform,  and  on  other  oc- 
casions when  so  ordered  on  account  of  the  death 


16 


SPECIALTY  MAKKS  ON  RATING  BADGES 

1,  Master-at-arms  ;  2,  Boatswains'  mates,  coxswains ;  3,  Quartermasters  ; 
4,  Blacksmiths,  ship  fitters ;  5,  Sailraakers'  mates  ;  6,  Printers  ;  7,  Car- 
penters, plumber  and  fitters,  painters  ;  8,  Turret  captains  ;  9,  Gunners' 
mates  ;  10,  Chief  yeomen  ;  11,  Yeomen,  first,  second,  and  third  classes  ; 
12,  Electricians  ;  13,  Machinists'  mates,  boiler  makers,  water  tenders, 
coppersmiths,  oilers;  14,  Hospital  stewards,  hospital  apprentices  (red 
cloth);  15,  Bandmaster,  musicians  ;  16,  Commissary  stewards 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        103 

of  a  public  official.  It  consists  of  a  band  of 
crape  on  the  left  sleeve,  and  a  knot  of  crape  on 
the  sword  hilt. 

The  enlisted  men  have  blue  and  white  dress 
and  undress  uniforms.  Chief  petty  officers 
have  a  distinctive  uniform  from  other  enlisted 
men;  it  consists  of  a  double-breasted  sack  coat 
with  brass  buttons,  and  a  cap  with  a  visor.  All 
other  enlisted  men  wear  a  shirt  with  broad  col- 
lar and  a  blue  flat  cap.  Different  grades  and 
duties  among  enlisted  men  are  indicated  by 
rating  badges  and  distinguishing  marks,  which 
are  of  cloth,  except  in  certain  special  cases  of 
petty  officers,  when  the  chevrons  may  be  of  gold 
lace  instead  of  scarlet  cloth. 

The  rank  of  a  petty  officer  is  indicated  by 
chevrons  and  his  branch  by  the  specialty  mark 
placed  between  the  chevrons  and  the  eagle. 
There  are  sixteen  specialty  marks  indicating 
the  various  branches  among  the  enlisted  men. 
In  addition  there  are  distinguishing  marks  worn 
on  the  uniform  to  indicate  those  men  who  have 
qualified  as  seaman-gunner,  gun  captain  or  gun- 


104.    THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

pointer,  and  a  mark  for  those  who  are  ex- ap- 
prentices or  hospital  attendants.  There  are 
also  continuous  service  stripes  of  red  that  are 
worn  on  the  left  sleeve,  and  show  the  number  of 
complete  terms  of  enlistment  served,  one  for 
each  enlistment. 

All  enlisted  men  of  the  seaman  branch,  except 
chief  petty  officers,  are  required  to  wear  a  jack- 
knife  on  a  knife  lanyard  as  part  of  the  uniform. 

A  "  watch  mark,"  of  white  or  blue,  for  the 
deck  force  and  red  for  the  engine-room  force,  is 
worn  on  the  shoulder  seam  of  all,  except  petty 
officers,  to  indicate  whether  the  man  is  in  the 
starboard  or  port  watch,  the  mark  being  worked 
in  the  right  shoulder  in  the  former  case  and  the 
left  in  the  latter. 

Petty  officers  wear  their  rating  badge  on  the 
right  or  left  sleeve  to  indicate  to  which  watch 
they  are  assigned. 

CEREMONIALS  AND  DISTINCTIONS 

In  all  military  services  there  are  many  cere- 
monial observances.  This  is  especially  true  of 


RATING  BADGES  FOR  PETTY  OFFICERS 

1,  Chief  master-at-arms ;  2,  Boatswain's  mate,  first  class ;  3,  Gunner's  mate, 
second  class ;  4,  Quartermaster,  third  class 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        105 

the  Navy,  and  the  procedure  to  be  followed  on 
each  occasion  requiring  ceremonial  or  other  ob- 
servance is  specified  in  great  detail.  An  entire 
chapter  in  the  Navy  Regulations  is  devoted  to 
the  subject  "  Honors  and  Distinctions."  It 
covers  the  ceremonies  to  be  observed  on  board 
vessels  of  the  Navy  and  at  naval  stations  in 
honor  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
Vice-President,  an  ex-President,  the  president 
or  sovereign  of  a  foreign  state,  members  of 
royal  families,  Cabinet  officers,  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States,  governors,  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  diplomatic  representatives, 
consuls,  and  naval  and  military  officers.  A 
section  of  the  chapter  is  devoted  to  honors  and 
distinctions  in  general  and  specifies  the  formal- 
ities to  be  observed  in  ordinary  official  inter- 
course and  the  details  of  other  ceremonies. 

The  most  elaborate  ceremony  is  that  followed 
when  the  President  of  the  United  States  visits 
a  vessel  of  the  Navy.  All  officers  of  the  vessel 
are  required  to  assemble  in  special  full  dress 
uniform  on  the  side  of  the  quarter-deck  on 


106         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

•which  the  President  boards,  the  yards  and  rail 
are  manned  by  the  crew,  and  the  marines  and 
band  are  paraded  on  the  quarter-deck.  When 
the  President  reaches  the  deck,  officers  and  men 
salute,  the  marine  guard  presents  arms,  the 
drum  gives  four  ruffles  and  the  bugle  four  flour- 
ishes, followed  by  the  national  air,  played  by 
the  band.  The  President's  flag  is  displayed  at 
the  mainmast-head,  and  kept  flying  as  long  as 
he  is  on  board,  and  a  national  salute  of  twenty- 
one  guns  is  fired  immediately  after  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  suite  have  been  received.  The 
same  ceremonies  are  repeated  at  his  departure, 
and  all  other  United  States  warships  present 
are  required  to  man  the  rail  and  fire  a  national 
salute  at  the  same  time  as  the  ship  visited. 

Similar  honors  of  different  degree  are  paid  to 
other  officers,  varying  with  the  rank  and  im- 
portance of  the  person  honored,  the  minimum 
honors  prescribed  being  those  for  commissioned 
officers  of  the  Navy  or  marine  corps  below  the 
rank  of  commander.  For  these  officers  the 
"  side  is  piped  ";  that  is,  a  boatswain's  mate 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        107 

stands  at  the  gangway  and  blows  a  call  on  his 
whistle,  or  "  pipe,"  as  it  is  called,  and  two 
"  side-boys  "  attend  the  gangway,  saluting  as 
the  officer  reaches  the  deck. 

When  a  naval  ship  enters  a  foreign  port,  a  na- 
tional salute  of  twenty-one  guns  is  fired,  but  no 
United  States  ship  is  allowed  to  fire  such  a 
salute  in  honor  of  a  foreign  nation  unless  there 
is  assurance  that  it  will  be  returned  gun  for 
gun. 

All  officers  and  men  are  required  to  salute  the 
national  ensign  upon  reaching  the  quarter-deck 
of  a  man-of-war,  or  on  leaving  it  to  go  over  the 
side;  they  must  stand  at  attention  when  the 
' '  Star  Spangled  Banner  ' '  is  being  played,  and 
during  morning  and  evening  colors,  when  also 
the  marine  guard  is  paraded. 

Every  officer  and  enlisted  man  of  the  Navy, 
when  buried,  receives  military  honors  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  rank  or  rating. 

The  most  impressive  and  affecting  of  all  cere- 
monies is  that  of  burial  at  sea.  The  body  is 
sewn  in  a  hammock,  weighted  at  the  foot  to 


108         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

make  it  sink,  and  placed  on  a  slide  on  the  star- 
board side  of  the  quarter-deck.  The  flag  is 
half-masted  for  an  appropriate  length  of  time, 
depending  on  the  rank  of  the  deceased,  and,  at 
the  appointed  hour,  the  ship  is  stopped  and  the 
boatswain's  mates  call,  "  all  hands  to  bury  the 
dead."  After  the  funeral  ceremonies,  which 
are  conducted  by  the  captain  if  there  is  no 
chaplain  on  board,  the  end  of  the  slide  is  raised 
and  the  body  thus  consigned  to  the  deep.  Three 
volleys  of  musketry  are  fired  by  the  escort,  the 
bugler  sounds  "  taps,"  and  the  boatswain's 
mates  "  pipe  down." 

When  the  interment  is  on  shore,  the  exercises 
are  more  elaborate.  The  funeral  cortege  on  its 
way  to  the  cemetery  marches  at  slow  time,  the 
band  playing  a  dirge  and  the  mourners  march- 
ing in  inverse  order  of  rank;  the  ensign  is 
draped  in  mourning,  and  the  drums  are  muffled. 

The  size  of  the  funeral  escort  is  determined 
by  the  rank  of  the  deceased.  For  an  admiral 
it  consists  of  four  battalions  of  infantry  and 
two  battalions  of  artillery ;  for  an  enlisted  man, 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        109 

not  a  petty  officer,  it  consists  of  eight  men  com- 
manded by  a  third-class  petty  officer.  Officers 
and  petty  officers  of  intermediate  rank  have 
funeral  escorts  varying  in  size  between  the 
above  extremes.  At  the  grave,  after  the  burial 
service,  the  usual  three  volleys  of  musketry  are 
fired,  and  "  taps  "  sounded  as  in  the  burial  at 
sea. 

The  most  elaborate  burial  ever  given  any  one 
who  had  served  in  the  United  States  Navy  was 
that  given  Admiral  Farragut,  whose  death  took 
place  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  His  body  was  taken 
to  New  York  on  a  naval  vessel.  The  funeral 
escort  through  the  streets  of  New  York  con- 
sisted of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  members  of  his  Cabinet,  many  naval  and 
military  officers  of  high  rank,  sailors,  ten  thou- 
sand soldiers,  the  New  York  Fire  Brigade,  and 
numerous  civic  bodies.  Public  schools  and  of- 
fices, the  Customs  House,  the  Stock  Exchange, 
and  leading  mercantile  houses  were  closed. 
Bells  were  tolled  and  minute  guns  fired.  Ad- 
miral Farragut  was  mourned  sincerely  by  the 


110         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

people  at  large,  not  only  on  account  of  his  dis- 
tinguished service  to  the  country,  but  for  his 
admirable  personal  qualities. 

After  the  death  of  Admiral  Nelson  at  the  Bat- 
tle of  Trafalgar,  where  he  won  an  overwhelm- 
ing victory  over  the  French  and  Spanish  allies, 
his  body  was  taken  to  England  on  his  flagship 
the  Victory.  The  grateful  people,  in  a  desire 
to  render  him  all  possible  honors,  accorded  him 
a  funeral  that  probably  never  has  been  sur- 
passed. He  was  buried  in  a  coffin  made  after 
the  battle  of  the  Nile  of  a  part  of  the  mainmast 
of  the  vanquished  French  flagship  Orient.  His 
body  rested  in  state  in  Greenwich  Hospital,  and 
then  was  carried,  covered  by  the  Victory's  bat- 
tle flag,  through  the  streets  of  London  by  sailors 
from  the  fleet,  and  was  followed  by  England's 
highest  naval  and  military  officers.  Bells  were 
tolled  and  minute  guns  were  fired,  and  all  of 
England  was  abroad  to  pay  a  last  tribute  to 
England's  greatest  naval  hero,  whose  genius 
had  prevented  frequently  the  invasion  of  his 
country,  and  who  had  won  many  decisive  vie- 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        111 

tories  over  its  enemies.  He  was  buried  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral  and  a  monument  indicative 
of  his  genius  and  achievements  marks  his  tomb. 

THE  WATCH  BELL 

Time  is  indicated  on  shipboard  by  striking 
the  * '  watch  bell  ' '  each  half  hour.  Watches  on 
ships  are  generally  of  four  hours'  duration,  so 
that  the  bells  are  arranged  to  mark  clearly  the 
divisions  of  time  in  four-hour  intervals.  These, 
divisions  are  from  midnight  to  4  A.  M.,  then  to 
8  A.  M.,  then  to  noon,  then  to  4  p.  M.,  then  8  P.  M., 
and  then  to  midnight.  A  half  hour  after  the 
beginning  of  each  watch  one  bell  is  struck,  and 
an  additional  bell  is  struck  for  each  succeeding 
half  hour  that  elapses  up  to  eight  bells. 

As  the  crew  is  divided  usually  into  an  even 
number  of  watches  that  alternate  with  each 
other,  and  in  order  that  the  men  may  not  be  on 
watch  at  the  same  periods  each  successive  day, 
the  period  from  4  p.  M.  to  8  p.  M.  is  divided  into 
two  watch  periods  of  two  hours  each,  that  from 
4  to  6  o  'clock  being  the  '  *  first  dog  watch, ' '  and 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

that  from  6  to  8  o'clock  the  "  second  dog 
watch."  In  the  United  States  Navy  the  bells  in 
the  dog  watches  are  struck  the  same  as  for 
any  other  four-hour  period.  In  the  English 
Navy,  at  half -past  six  o'clock,  one  bell  only  is 
struck,  at  seven  o'clock  two  bells,  and  at  half- 
past  seven  o'clock  three  bells  are  struck.  This 
custom  arose  from  the  fact  that  a  mutiny  in  a 
British  fleet  was  planned  at  one  time  to  take 
place  at  five  bells  (half -past  six)  of  the  second 
dog  watch.  The  officers  learned  of  the  plot,  and 
to  avoid  giving  the  signal,  struck  only  one  bell 
at  that  hour. 

The  Navy  Regulations  require  that  the  star- 
board or  right-hand  gangway  of  a  ship  is  to  be 
reserved  for  the  use  of  commissioned  officers 
and  their  visitors  when  going  on  board  or  leav- 
ing the  ship,  while  the  port  gangway  is  used  by 
others.  When  naval  steam  launches  approach 
the  side  of  a  man-of-war  at  night  or  in  day 
time,  when  the  canopy  is  spread,  they  are  re- 
quired to  indicate  the  rank  of  the  highest  of- 
ficer on  board  by  short  blasts  on  the  whistle. 


MAN-OF-WAR  IN  COMMISSION        113 

This  is  sounded  four  times  for  a  flag  officer, 
three  times  for  a  commanding  officer,  twice  for 
other  commissioned  officers,  and  once  for  any 
other  person.  Pulling  boats  reply  to  hails  from 
a  man-of-war  by  answering  "  flag  "  if  there  is 
a  flag  officer  on  board,  the  name  of  the  ship 
commanded  by  him,  if  a  captain  is  on  board, 
"  aye,  aye  "  for  other  commissioned  officers, 
"  no,  no  "  for  other  officers,  and  "  hello  "  for 
enlisted  men  or  marines.  Officers  in  boats  pass- 
ing one  another  are  accorded  specified  honors 
according  to  their  rank.  Pulling  boats  toss 
their  oars  and  steam  launches  stop  their  engines 
for  flag  officers,  while  the  officer  in  charge  of  the 
boat  salutes.  Similar  honors  of  less  degree  are 
accorded  to  commanding  officers,  while  other 
commissioned  officers  simply  exchange  salutes 
with  the  hand,  the  junior  saluting  first.  Juniors 
in  boats  are  required  to  give  way  to  seniors, 
and  to  show  deference  by  abstaining  from  cross- 
ing their  bows  or  in  any  manner  ignoring  them. 
The  Navy  Regulations  prohibit  the  giving  of 
cheers  as  a  compliment  to  any  officer. 


114.    THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 
GROG 

Formerly  grog,  which  consisted  of  a  mixture 
of  rum,  sugar,  and  water,  was  issued  to  enlisted 
men  of  the  Navy  each  day  as  a  part  of  their 
ration.  On  September  1, 1862,  this  was  discon- 
tinued by  law,  and  now  the  Articles  for  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Navy  prohibit  the  introduction 
on  board  naval  vessels  of  distilled  spirits,  ex- 
cept upon  the  order  and  under  the  control  of 
medical  officers,  and  to  be  used  only  for  medical 
purposes.  The  sale  or  gift  of  malt  or  alcoholic 
liquors  to  enlisted  men  on  board  ship  or  at 
naval  stations  also  is  prohibited  by  regulation. 


6 


CHAPTER  V 
CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY 

IN  former  days  of  wooden  ships,  the  largest 
and  most  powerful  men-of-war  were  called 
"  ships  of  the  line,"  or  "  line  of  battle  "  ships, 
and  were  classed  according  to  the  number  of 
their  guns;  the  smaller  ships  were  frigates, 
corvettes,  gunboats,  sloops-of-war,  etc.  To 
give  an  idea  of  the  classification  at  that  period 
two  well-known  examples  may  be  mentioned. 
They  are  Lord  Nelson's  flagship  the  Victory, 
which  was  a  three-decker,  first-rate  ship  of  the 
line,  and  the  Constitution,  which  was  a  frigate. 
The  United  States  possessed  only  a  few  ships  of 
the  line,  and  none  of  these  ever  were  in  battle. 

At  the  present  day  warships  may  be  separated 
into  two  broad  divisions,  and  be  subdivided 
further  into  classes.  The  main  divisions  are 

armored  and  unarmored  ships.    The  first  in- 
ns 


116         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

eludes  battleships,  monitors,  and  armored 
cruisers;  the  second,  cruisers,  gunboats,  scouts, 
torpedo  destroyers,  torpedo  boats,  and  auxili- 
ary vessels,  such  as  transports,  supply  ships, 
repair  ships,  colliers,  etc.  Armored  ships  in- 
clude all  those  that  are  fitted  with  side  armor 
to  protect  the  hulls  from  being  pierced  by 
projectiles ;  unarmored  ships  may  be  fitted  with 
protective  decks,  but  have  no  armor  on  their 
exterior  surface. 

Battleships. — This  is  the  most  formidable  type 
of  war  vessel,  and  combines  powerful  weapons 
with  the  greatest  protection  possible  under  the 
limitations  involved  by  floating  warfare.  To 
carry  the  heavy  guns  and  massive  armor 
requisite  to  meet  the  above  conditions,  a  battle- 
ship must  be  of  the  largest  possible  size,  and 
this  tends  to  increase  continually,  and  is  limited 
only  by  the  draft  of  water  in  the  harbors,  the 
size  of  dry  docks,  and  the  width  of  the  locks  of 
the  Panama  Canal.  In  recent  years  the  size 
of  battleships  has  increased  from  a  displace- 
ment of  11,000  tons  for  the  Oregon  class,  to 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY  117 

28,000  tons  for  the  Texas  class,  recently  com- 
menced. The  armament,  armor  protection,  and 
speed  have  increased  correspondingly  with  the 
size;  speeds  of  over  21  knots,  that  formerly 
were  considered  high  for  protected  cruisers, 
now  are  attained  by  battleships. 

Armored  Cruisers. — An  armored  cruiser  may 
be  defined  as  a  battleship  in  which  armament 
and  armor,  to  a  certain  extent,  have  been  sacri- 
ficed to  speed ;  thus  an  armored  cruiser  has  the 
essential  characteristics  of  a  battleship,  but  its 
armor  is  lighter  and  extends  over  a  compara- 
tively smaller  area,  its  guns  are  fewer  in  num- 
bers and  of  smaller  caliber ;  its  speed,  however, 
may  exceed  by  three  to  five  knots  that  of  a 
battleship  of  the  same  class.  United  States 
armored  cruisers  vary  in  displacement  from 
9,000  to  15,000  tons.  In  foreign  navies  greater 
displacements  than  those  given  have  been 
adopted  for  recent  armored  cruisers.  The  pur- 
pose primarily  of  armored  cruisers  is  for  ad- 
vance skirmishing,  and  they  are  capable  of 
taking  place  in  the  line  of  battle.  They  bear 


118         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

essentially  the  same  relation  to  war  on  the 
sea  that  heavy  cavalry  bears  to  that  on  land, 
and,  if  emergency  called  for  armored  vessels 
for  distant  service,  a  squadron  of  armored 
cruisers  would  be  sent,  which,  if  it  could  not 
meet  the  enemy  in  equal  battle,  could  harass 
and  annoy,  and,  by  superior  speed,  avoid  definite 
engagement  with  the  foe. 

Monitors. — These  vessels  are  heavily  armored 
and  carry  a  limited  number  of  guns  of  the 
largest  caliber.  The  type  is  distinctly  Amer- 
ican, no  other  nation  ever  having  adopted  it,  and 
in  recent  years  it  has  fallen  into  disfavor  in  this 
country.  Monitors  vary  in  displacement  from 
3,000  tons  to  8,000  tons.  They  carry  one  or  two 
turrets,  with  guns  of  large  caliber ;  their  sides, 
which  extend  only  a  short  distance  above  the 
water,  are  heavily  armored,  and  their  main  deck 
also  is  armored.  Over  the  armored  deck  they 
are  fitted  with  an  unarmored  superstructure, 
which,  if  shot  away,  would  not  affect  the  vitals 
of  the  ship. 

The  two  great  defects  in  monitors  as  a  type 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY  119 

are  that,  owing  to  their  form,  they  are  quick 
rollers,  and  are  so  unsteady  in  a  seaway  as  to 
prevent  accurate  firing  of  their  guns,  and,  on 
account  of  their  not  being  habitable,  they  are  un- 
suited  to  cruising,  and  therefore  are  available 
only  for  coast  and  harbor  defense.  The  true 
function  of  a  man-of-war  being  to  seek  and  de- 
stroy the  enemy's  fleet  wherever  it  may  be, 
there  is  no  place  in  a  fighting  navy  for  harbor 
defense  vessels.  That  purpose  can  be  effected 
more  surely  by  fortifications. 

Cruisers. — Protected  cruisers  differ  essentially 
from  armored  cruisers  in  having  no  side  armor, 
the  protection  consisting,  exclusively,  of  a  pro- 
tective deck.  They  vary  in  size  from  3,000  to 
8,000  tons.  Their  purpose  is  to  patrol  the 
ocean,  convoy  merchantmen,  prey  on  the 
enemy's  commerce,  and,  in  peace  time,  to  show 
the  flag  and  serve  as  international  police.  They 
are  usually  of  moderate  speed,  and  of  large 
coal  capacity  and  steaming  radius. 

Scout  Cruisers,  which  have  higher  speed  than 
any  ships  except  torpedo  craft,  are  intended  to 


120         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

cruise  in  company  with  the  fleet,  precede  it  for 
scouting,  and  to  keep  the  Commander-in-Chief 
informed  by  wireless  telegraph  of  the  results. 
They  are  of  light  construction,  and  armed  with 
guns  of  power  adequate  only  to  repel  small 
craft.  It  is  probable  that,  in  the  future,  scout 
cruisers  will  be  equipped  with  aeroplanes  for 
scouting  purposes. 

Gunboats  may  be  classed  as  small  cruisers. 
They  range  in  displacement  from  800  to  1,200 
tons,  have  small  armament,  and  no  armor ;  they 
serve  in  peace  time  for  patrol  and  police  duty, 
and,  in  war  time,  for  picket  duty,  etc.  There 
are  special  types,  called  river  gunboats,  which 
are  built  with  light  draft  for  service  up  rivers 
and  in  shallow  harbors.  This  type  has  proved 
especially  useful  for  operations  against  the  in- 
surgents in  the  Philippines,  and  for  police  and 
patrol  duty  in  Chinese  waters. 

Torpedo  Craft. — This  class  includes  torpedo 
destroyers,  torpedo  boats,  and  submarines. 
Torpedo  boats  are  smaller  and  appeared  first. 
So-called  torpedo  destroyers  were  built  later  to 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY   121 

operate  against  them.  Now  only  torpedo  de- 
stroyers are  built,  and  these  increase  in  size 
each  year.  Those  of  the  newest  type  which  are 
being  built  for  the  United  States  Navy  have  a 
displacement  of  about  1,000  tons.  These  craft 
are  of  extremely  light  construction,  and  are 
built  largely  with  a  view  to  obtaining  high 
speed.  They  are  of  lightest  possible  build  in 
all  parts,  have  no  armor,  few  guns,  and,  to  re- 
duce their  weight  to  the  lowest  possible  limit, 
they  carry  only  the  necessities. 

Submarines. — To  people  not  connected  with 
the  Navy  the  submarine  appeals  strongly  as  be- 
ing a  vessel  capable  of  cruising  under  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  and,  without  being  discov- 
ered, dealing  a  fatal  blow  to  an  enemy's  ship. 
With  the  submarines,  however,  that  have  been 
constructed  this  ideal  falls  short  of  realization. 
At  best  the  submarine  can  cruise  under  the 
water  at  only  moderate  speed;  it  cannot  nav- 
igate except  by  means  of  the  periscope  project- 
ing above  the  water  and  causing  a  disturbance 
on  the  surface,  almost  as  great  as  that  of  the 


122         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

boat  itself  when  awash,  rendering  the  discovery 
of  its  whereabouts  comparatively  simple.  A 
submarine's  movements,  even  with  the  aid  of 
the  periscope,  are  uncertain,  and  many  persons 
who  have  considered  the  subject  seriously  in  all 
its  phases,  believe  that  a  submarine  under  mod- 
ern conditions  of  warfare  would  not  present  any 
considerable  danger  to  a  battleship.  It  is  be- 
lieved by  many  that  the  presence  of  submarines 
in  a  harbor  would  prevent  effectually  the  block- 
ading of  that  port  by  an  enemy.  A  submarine 
is  fitted  with  no  armament  except  torpedo  tubes, 
which  are  in  the  bow,  or  nose,  of  the  boat.  It 
is  intended  to  approach  the  hostile  warship 
awash,  until  within  several  thousand  yards,  and 
then  to  submerge,  and,  when  within  range,  to 
fire  its  torpedo.  As  we  have  seen,  this  plan  is 
difficult  of  realization. 

Submarine  boats  may  be  classed  as  torpedo 
craft,  their  sole  armament  being  torpedo  tubes. 
There  are  forty  built  or  building  in  the  Navy. 
Their  displacement  and  speed  vary  consider- 
ably, the  largest  being  about  500  tons  with 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY 

a   maximum    speed    submerged   of    about    10 
knots. 

LIST   OF   SHIPS   IN   THE   NAVY 

There  are  in  the  United  States  Navy  38  bat- 
tleships in  service  and  building,  12  armored 
cruisers,  10  monitors,  20  protected  cruisers,  2 
unprotected  cruisers,  3  scout  cruisers,  29  gun- 
boats, 32  torpedo  boats,  50  torpedo-boat  de- 
stroyers, 40  submarines,  46  tugs,  and  a  number 
of  other  vessels  of  various  classes — a  total  on 
the  Navy  list  of  380  vessels  of  all  classes. 

Battleships.— The  San  Marcos,  formerly  the 
Texas,  is  the  oldest  battleship  in  the  Navy,  hav- 
ing been  commissioned  in  1895.  She  is  rated  as 
a  second-class  battleship,  and  has  a  displace- 
ment of  6,315  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  17  knots, 
and  carries  a  main  battery  of  two  12-inch  and 
six  6-inch  guns,  the  12-inch  in  turrets.  The  San 
Marcos  was  assigned  as  station  ship  at  the  Navy 
Yard,  Charleston,  for  a  number  of  years. 

Recently,  she  was  utilized  as  a  target  for  ex- 
perimental purposes,  primarily  with  a  view  to 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

determining  the  effect  on  modern  armored  ves- 
sels of  gun  fire  at  extreme  ranges.  This  de- 
stroyed the  vessel  so  that  she  will  never  float 
again.  The  San  Marcos,  then  the  Texas,  took 
an  active  part  in  the  Spanish  War,  and  at  the 
battle  of  Santiago  was  brought  into  prominence 
by  the  humane  action  of  Captain  Philip,  who 
was  in  command,  in  stopping  the  cheering  of  his 
crew  on  account  of  the  pitiful  condition  of  the 
Spanish  prisoners  that  had  been  brought  on 
board. 

The  next  oldest  battleships  are  the  Massa- 
chusetts, Indiana,  and  Oregon,  which  were  com- 
missioned in  1896.  They  are  rated  as  coast 
defense  battleships,  being  of  slow  speed  and 
small  coal  capacity,  and  consequently  not  suited 
for  operations  far  from  base.  They  have  a  full 
load  displacement  of  11,688  tons,  have  a  de- 
signed speed  of  16  knots,  and  carry  a  main  bat- 
tery each  of  four  13-inch  and  eight  8-inch  guns, 
in  turrets.  These  ships  would  be  available  in 
war  time  for  coast  and  harbor  defense,  and  for 
operations  with  the  fleet  not  far  from  a  base. 


bo 

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CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY  125 

They  would  have  been  unable  to  make  the  cruise 
around  the  world  with  the  other  battleships  on 
account  of  their  slow  speed  and  small  coal 
capacity.  All  three  ships  served  during  the 
Spanish  War.  The  Oregon  in  particular  won 
distinction  by  her  hurried  trip  from  the  west 
coast  to  the  east  coast  of  the  United  States 
around  South  America. 

The  Iowa  was  commissioned  in  1897,  and  was 
the  finest  battleship  we  had  in  the  Spanish  War. 
She  has  a  full  load  displacement  of  12,647  tons, 
has  a  designed  speed  of  16  knots,  and  carries  a 
main  battery  of  four  12-inch  and  eight  8-inch 
guns,  in  turrets,  and  four  4-inch,  in  broadside. 

The  Kentucky  and  Kearsarge  were  commis- 
sioned in  1899,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of 
12,320  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  16  knots,  and 
carry  each  a  main  battery  of  four  13-inch  and 
four  8-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  fourteen  5-inch 
guns,  in  broadside.  These  battleships  were  the 
first  to  have  the  so-called  superposed  turrets, 
that  is,  to  have  four  8-inch  guns  in  two  turrets 
superposed  on  two  13-inch  gun  turrets,  so  that 


126         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

each  pair  of  turrets  turns  four  guns;  this  ar- 
rangement has  not  proved  a  success. 

The  Alabama,  commissioned  in  1900,  and  the 
Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  in  1901,  have  a  full  load 
displacement  of  12,150  tons,  a  designed  speed  of 
16  knots,  and  carry  each  a  main  battery  of  four 
13-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  fourteen  6-inch 
guns,  in  broadside. 

The  Maine,  Missouri,  and  Ohio,  commissioned 
respectively  in  1902, 1903,  and  1904,  have  a  full 
load  displacement  of  13,500  tons,  a  designed 
speed  of  18  knots,  and  carry  each  a  main  bat- 
tery of  four  12-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  six- 
teen 6-inch  guns,  in  broadside. 

The  Virginia,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  and 
Georgia,  commissioned  in  1906,  and  the  Ne- 
braska, in  1907,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of 
16,094  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  19  knots,  and 
carry  each  a  main  battery  of  four  12-inch,  eight 
8-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  twelve  6-inch  guns, 
in  broadside.  The  two  12-inch  turrets  have 
each  a  turret  containing  two  8-inch  guns  super- 
posed on  them,  the  other  8-inch  guns  being  car- 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY 

ried  in  turrets  one  on  each  side  in  the  waist  or 
middle  of  the  ship. 

The  Connecticut  and  Louisiana,  commis- 
sioned in  1906,  the  Minnesota,  Kansas,  and  Ver- 
mont, in  1907,  and  the  New  Hampshire,  in  1908, 
have  each  a  full  load  displacement  of  17,650 
tons,  a  designed  speed  of  18  knots,  and  carry 
each  a  main  battery  of  four  12-inch  and  eight 
8-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  twelve  7-inch  guns, 
in  broadside.  The  Connecticut  for  five  years 
has  been  the  flagship  of  the  Atlantic  Battleship 
Fleet. 

The  Mississippi  and  Idaho,  commissioned  in 
1908,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of  14,465 
tons,  a  designed  speed  of  17  knots,  and  carry 
each  a  main  battery  of  four  12-inch  and  eight 
8-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  eight  7-inch  guns, 
in  broadside.  These  ships,  which  were  under- 
taken after  the  Connecticut  type  had  been  de- 
veloped and  undertaken,  are  regarded  as  a  less 
efficient  type,  because,  owing  to  their  smaller 
size,  they  have  less  speed,  smaller  battery,  and 
shorter  coal  endurance — three  vital  features  in 


128         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

warships  that,  with  adequate  armor  protection, 
can  be  obtained  only  by  means  of  large  displace- 
ments. 

The  South  Carolina  and  Michigan,  commis- 
sioned in  1909,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of 
17,617  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  !Sy2  knots,  and 
carry  each  a  main  battery  of  eight  12-inch  guns, 
in  turrets.  These  ships  are  the  first  battleships 
in  the  United  States  Navy  embodying  the  so- 
called  "  all  big  gun  "  idea,  that  is,  all  of  the 
guns  of  the  main  battery  are  of  uniform  size  of 
12  inches,  the  maximum  size  current  in  naval 
ordnance  at  the  time  of  their  design.  These 
guns  are  mounted  in  four  turrets  on  the  center 
line  of  the  vessel,  and  so  arranged  that  all  can 
be  fired  on  either  side,  and  four  forward  and 
four  aft.  These  ships,  developed  contempo- 
raneously to  the  English  Dreadnought,  are  re- 
garded as  being  superior  to  it  as  a  type,  as 
through  having  all  turrets  on  the  center  line, 
they  are  able  to  fire  all  guns  on  either  beam. 

The  Delaware  and  North  Dakota,  commis- 
sioned in  1910,  and  the  Florida  and  Utah  in 


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13 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY  129 

1911,  are  said  to  be  the  finest  and  most  power- 
ful vessels  of  their  date  in  the  world.    They 
have  a  full  load  displacement  of  22,060  tons,  a 
designed  speed  of  21  knots,  and  carry  each  a 
main  battery  of  ten  12-inch  guns,  in  turrets, 
and  fourteen  5-inch  guns,  in  broadside.    All 
the  12-inch  turrets  are  on  the  center  line,  and 
it  is  possible  to  fire  ten  12-inch  guns  on  either 
side,  and  to  fire  four  forward  and  four  aft.   The 
Delaware  is  fitted  with  the  old  style  reciprocat- 
ing engines;  the  three  others  have  turbine  en- 
gines. 

The  Arkansas  and  Wyoming,  contracted  for 
in  1909,  and  expected  to  be  commissioned  in 

1912,  will  have   a   full   load  displacement  of 
27,250  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  20%  knots,  and 
will  carry  each  a  main  battery  of  twelve  12-inch 
guns,  in  turrets  on  the  center  line,  and  twenty- 
one  5-inch  guns,  in  broadside.  Both  will  be  fitted 
with  turbine  engines. 

The  Texas,  contracted  for  in  1910,  to  be  built 
by  a  private  shipyard,  and  the  New  York,  com- 
menced in  1911  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard, 


130         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

will  have  a  full  load  displacement  of  28,367  tons, 
a  designed  speed  of  21  knots,  and  each  will  carry 
a  main  battery  of  ten  14-inch  guns,  in  five  tur- 
rets, and  twenty-one  5-inch  guns,  in  broadside. 
They  will  be  fitted  with  reciprocating  engines. 
They  will  be  commissioned  early  in  1914.  These 
are  the  first  American  battleships  to  carry  14- 
inch  turret  guns. 

Two  battleships  were  authorized  by  Congress 
in  act  passed  March  4,  1911.  For  the  present 
these  will  be  known  as  battleships  Numbers  36 
and  37,  though  later  the  usual  names  will  be 
assigned.  They  will  carry  ten  14-inch  guns,  in 
four  turrets,  two  of  which  will  have  each  three 
guns,  and  the  other  two  turrets  will  have  each 
two  guns.  These  ships  will  burn  oil  fuel  ex- 
clusively, and  will  be  the  first  battleships  ever 
built  having  this  characteristic.  It  is  expected 
that  they  will  be  commissioned  in  1915. 

Armored  Cruisers. — On  account  of  the  limited 
amounts  of  money  available  for  new  ships,  and 
of  the  greater  fighting  value  of  battleships,  the 
United  States  never  has  regarded  with  great 


Armored  cruiser  Brooklyn,  flagship  of  Commodore  Schley 
during  the  Spanish  War 


Armored  cruiser  New  York,  flagship  of  Rear- Admiral  Sampson 
during  the  Spanish  War 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY  131 

favor  the  armored  cruiser  type  as  compared  to 
battleships,  and  consequently  has  few  of  them 
on  her  navy  list. 

The  Saratoga,  formerly  the  New  York,  is  the 
oldest  armored  cruiser  in  the  Navy,  having  been 
commissioned  in  1893.  She  has  a  full  load  dis- 
placement of  8,900  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  20 
knots,  and  carries  a  main  battery  of  four  8-inch 
guns,  in  turrets,  and  ten  5-inch  guns,  in  broad- 
side. She  was  regarded  in  her  time  as  being 
the  finest  ship  in  the  Navy,  and  was  sent  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Eobley  D.  Evans  to 
represent  this  country  at  the  opening  of  the 
Kiel  Canal  in  Germany  in  1895,  and  was  in- 
spected and  highly  complimented  by  the  Ger- 
man Emperor.  She  was  the  flagship  of  Ad- 
miral Sampson  during  the  Spanish  War. 

The  Brooklyn,  commissioned  in  1896,  has  a 
full  load  displacement  of  10,068  tons,  a  designed 
speed  of  20  knots,  and  carries  a  battery  of  eight 
8-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  twelve  5-inch  guns, 
in  broadside.  The  Brooklyn  is  known  best  as 
the  flagship  of  Commodore  Schley  during  the 


132         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

Spanish  War.  In  July,  1906,  she  was  assigned 
to  bring  to  this  country  from  France  the  body 
of  Captain  John  Paul  Jones,  after  it  was  dis- 
interred in  Paris. 

The  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  Colorado,  and 
Pennsylvania,  commissioned  in  1905,  the  Cali- 
fornia in  1907,  and  the  South  Dakota  in  1908, 
have  a  full  load  displacement  of  15,138  tons,  a 
designed  speed  of  22  knots,  and  carry  each  a 
main  battery  of  four  8-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and 
fourteen  6-inch  guns,  in  broadside. 

The  Tennessee  and  Washington,  commis- 
sioned in  1906,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of 
15,712  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  22  knots,  and 
carry  a  main  battery  each  of  four  10-inch  guns, 
in  turrets,  and  sixteen  6-inch  guns. 

The  North  Carolina  and  Montana  are  the 
same  in  essential  features  as  the  last-named 
vessels.  They  were  commissioned  in  1908,  have 
a  full  load  displacement  of  15,981  tons,  a  de- 
signed speed  of  22  knots,  and  carry  a  main  bat- 
tery of  four  10-inch  guns,  in  turrets,  and  six- 
teen 6-inch  guns,  in  broadside. 


Monitors. — The  monitors  are  classed  accord- 
ing to  whether  they  have  one  or  two  turrets,  all 
of  the  older  ones  being  of  the  latter  type.  The 
older  monitors,  commissioned  between  1891  and 
1896,  are  the  Amphitrite,  Miantonomoh,  Monad- 
nock,  Monterey,  Puritan,  and  Terror,  ranging  in 
displacement  from  about  4,000  to  6,000  tons, 
and  in  speed  from  10  to  12  knots.  All  except 
the  Puritan  and  Monterey  carry  each  four  10- 
inch  guns,  in  turrets;  the  Puritan  carries  four 
12-inch  guns,  and  the  Monterey  two  12-inch  and 
two  10-inch  guns. 

The  single  turret  monitors  are  the  Ozark, 
Tonopah,  Tallahassee,  and  Cheyenne.  They 
were  commissioned  in  1902  and  1903 ;  they  have 
a  designed  speed  of  12  knots,  a  full  load  dis- 
placement of  3,356  tons,  and  carry  each  a  main 
battery  of  two  12-inch  guns,  in  the  turrets,  and 
four  4-inch  guns,  in  broadside. 

Protected  Cruisers. — There  are  in  the  Navy  20 
protected  cruisers,  two  unprotected  cruisers, 
and  three  scout  cruisers.  The  number  is  so 
large  and  the  types  so  different,  that  in  a  lim- 


134?         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

ited  space  it  is  possible  to  examine  in  detail  only 
the  more  important. 

The  oldest  vessel  of  the  so-called  New  Navy 
is  the  protected  cruiser  Atlanta.  She  was  com- 
missioned in  1886,  and  now  is  used  as  a  station 
ship,  serving  as  headquarters  for  the  crew  and 
officers  of  the  Reserve  Torpedo  Flotilla,  at 
Charleston.  She  has  a  displacement  of  about 
3,000  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  15  knots,  and 
carries  a  main  battery  of  two  8-inch  and  six 
6-inch  guns. 

The  Boston,  the  next  oldest  vessel,  was  com- 
missioned in  1887,  has  a  displacement  of  about 
3,000  tons,  a  designed  speed  of  15  knots,  and 
carries  a  battery  of  two  8-inch  and  six  6-inch 
guns. 

Others  in  order  of  construction  are  the  Chi- 
cago, Baltimore,  San  Francisco,  Newark,  De- 
troit, Marblehead,  Montgomery,  and  Cincinnati, 
ranging  in  displacement  from  2,000  to  4,500 
tons.  All  of  these  took  part  in  the  Spanish 
War,  and  are  well  known  in  connection  with 
the  early  history  of  our  new  Navy. 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY  135 

The  Columbia  and  Minneapolis  are  the  first  of 
the  so-called  commerce  destroyer  type,  being  in- 
tended for  that  purpose  in  war  time.  They 
were  commissioned  in  1894,  and  were  at  that 
time  regarded  as  fine  ships.  They  had  a  de- 
signed speed  of  22  knots;  the  Minneapolis,  on 
trial,  made  23  knots.  The  main  battery  of  each 
is  small  as  measured  by  modern  ideas;  it  con- 
sists of  one  8-inch,  two  6-inch,  and  eight  4-inch 
guns.  The  full  load  displacement  of  each  is 
8,270  tons. 

The  Olympia,  perhaps,  is  best  known  of  the 
protected  cruisers,  as  she  was  Commodore 
Dewey's  flagship  at  the  battle  of  Manila  Bay. 
She  was  commissioned  in  1895,  has  a  full  load 
displacement  of  6,558  tons,  a  designed  speed  of 
20  knots,  and  carries  a  main  battery  of  four 
8-inch  guns  mounted  in  turrets,  and  ten  5-inch 
guns,  in  broadside. 

The  Chattanooga,  Denver,  Des  Moines,  Gal- 
veston,  and  Tacoma  are  comparatively  modern 
cruisers,  having  been  commissioned  from  1903 
to  1905.  They  have  a  full  load  displacement  of 


136         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

3,500  tons,  designed  speed  of  16  knots,  and  carry 
a  main  battery  of  ten  5-inch  guns.  These 
cruisers  are  intended  for  foreign  service,  and, 
to  render  frequent  docking  unnecessary,  their 
bottoms  are  sheathed  with  wood  and  coppered. 
Ships  with  steel  bottoms  require  to  be  docked  at 
least  once  every  year,  in  some  instances  more 
frequently;  wooden  ships  with  copper  sheets 
can  go  for  years  without  being  docked,  as  the 
copper  prevents  the  attachment  of  barnacles 
and  other  marine  growth.  Copper  sheathing 
cannot  be  applied  directly  to  steel  ships  on  ac- 
count of  the  galvanic  action,  caused  by  the  sea 
water,  which  eats  the  steel  structure  with  great 
rapidity.  Steel  ships,  therefore,  sometimes  are 
sheathed  with  wood  to  protect  the  steel  from  the 
galvanic  action,  and  then  coppered.  This 
method  has  not  proved  successful,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  keeping  the  wooden  sheathing 
water-tight,  and  no  more  ships  are  being  built 
in  this  manner. 

The  Albany  and  New  Orleans  were  purchased 
from  Brazil  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY    137 

War.  They  were  built  in  England,  have  a  full 
load  displacement  of  3,954  tons,  a  designed 
speed  of  20  knots,  and  carry  a  main  battery  of 
ten  5-inch  guns.  Their  bottoms  are  sheathed 
with  wood  and  coppered. 

The  Charleston,  Mihvaukee,  and  St.  Louis  are 
the  most  modern  type  of  protected  cruiser. 
They  were  commissioned  in  1905  and  1906,  have 
a  full  load  displacement  of  10,839  tons,  a  de- 
signed speed  of  22  knots,  and  carry  a  main  bat- 
tery of  fourteen  6-inch  guns. 

The  Birmingham,  Chester,  and  Salem  are 
scout  cruisers.  They  are  designed  especially 
for  high  speed  and  large  steaming  radius.  They 
were  commissioned  in  1908,  have  a  full  load  dis- 
placement of  4,687  tons,  and  a  designed  speed 
of  24  knots ;  the  Chester,  on  trial,  made  a  speed 
of  26^  knots.  These  vessels  represent,  prob- 
ably, the  only  type  of  cruiser  that  in  the  future 
will  be  built  for  the  U.  S.  Navy. 

Gunboats. — There  are  twenty-nine  gunboats  in 
the  Navy,  of  which  number  nine  are  of  less 
than  500  tons  displacement. 


138         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

The  oldest  of  these,  the  Yorktown,  Benning- 
ton,  and  Concord,  were  commissioned  in  1889  to 
1891,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of  1910  tons, 
a  designed  speed  of  16  knots,  and  carry  a  main 
battery  of  six  6-inch  guns. 

The  Castine  and  Machias  were  commissioned 
in  1893-1894,  have  a  full  load  displacement  of 
1,293  tons,  and  a  designed  speed  of  13  knots. 
The  Machias  carries  a  main  battery  of  eight 
4-inch  guns.  The  Castine  recently  was  con- 
verted into  a  tender  to  submarines,  and  was 
fitted  with  a  torpedo  tube  for  use  in  training 
submarine  crews.  She  carries  a  battery  of 
only  two  6-pounder  guns. 

In  addition  to  these  are  the  Helena,  Nashville, 
and  Wilmington,  which  are  light-draft  gun- 
boats for  river  service;  the  Petrel;  the  Don 
Juan  de  Austria,  Isla  de  Luzon,  and  Isla  de 
Cuba,  which  were  captured  from  Spain;  the 
Annapolis,  Dubuque,  Marietta,  Newport,  Padu- 
cah,  Princeton,  Vicksburg,  and  Wheeling,  which 
are  so-called  "  composite  ships,"  having  steel 
frames  and  upper  works  combined  with  wooden 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY   139 

bottoms.  All  of  these  each  have  a  displacement 
of  about  1,000  tons,  and  most  of  them  carry 
main  batteries  of  4-inch  guns. 

The  nine  gunboats  of  less  than  500  tons 
displacement  were  captured  from  Spain;  they 
are  the  Alvarado,  Callao,  Elcano,  Pampanga, 
Panay,  Samar,  Sandoval,  and  Villalobos. 
They  are  serviceable  only  for  patrol  duty 
around  shore  and  were  very  effective  in  connec- 
tion with  the  operations  during  the  Philippine 
insurrection.  Their  batteries  consist  of  small 
guns,  three-  or  one-pounders,  and  automatic 
6-millimeter  guns. 

Steam  and  Sail  Propelled  Vessels. — Before  sail 
power  was  abandoned  entirely  for  men-of-war 
many  steam  vessels  were  fitted  with  it  as  auxili- 
ary and  for  use  when  it  was  not  desired  to  burn 
coal.  The  most  important  of  these  vessels  now 
remaining  in  the  Navy  is  the  Hartford,  which 
was  Admiral  Farragut's  flagship  during  the 
Civil  War,  and  was  the  one  in  which  he  fought 
the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay.  She  was  built  in 
1858,  has  a  displacement  of  2,790  tons,  and  a 


140         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

speed  of  12  knots.  She  is  being  used  at  the 
Naval  Academy  as  a  training  ship  for  midship- 
men. 

In  addition  to  the  Hartford,  there  are  the 
Alert,  commissioned  in  1873;  the  Ranger,  in 
1876;  Wolverine  (formerly  Michigan),  in  1844; 
Adams,  in  1876;  Enterprise,  in  1876;  Essex, 
in  1876;  Gopher,  in  1871;  Mohican,  in  1883, 
and  Yantic,  in  1864.  None  of  these  last- 
named  ships  are  in  active  service,  except 
as  training  ships,  or  for  the  use  of  naval 
militia. 

Sailing  Ships.— A  number  of  ships  of  the  old 
Navy  remain  in  service,  chiefly  as  receiving 
ships  at  the  Navy  Yards.  The  Constitution  and 
the  Constellation,  both  built  in  1797,  are  in  their 
original  form;  the  others  have  had  their  masts 
removed  and  are  housed  over.  These  latter  are 
the  Franklin,  completed  in  1865 ;  the  Independ- 
ence, in  1837;  the  Lancaster,  in  1858;  the  Pen- 
sacola,  in  1862;  the  Portsmouth,  in  1843;  the 
Richmond,  in  1858;  the  W abash,  in  1854;  the 
Nipsic,  in  1879;  the  Granite  State  (formerly 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY   141 

New  Hampshire),  in  1814,  and  the  Jamestown, 
in  1845. 

There  are  four  modern  sailing  ships  in  the 
Navy,  the  Severn,  Cumberland,  Intrepid,  and 
Boxer.  All  of  them  are  used  for  training  ships, 
although  the  idea  of  training  officers  and  men 
of  the  Navy  on  board  sailing  vessels  has  been 
abandoned  almost  completely;  it  having  been 
realized  that  the  knowledge  and  training  so 
acquired  are  of  little  value  in  comparison  to 
the  more  important  work  in  a  modern  steam 
vessel. 

Torpedo  Craft. — There  are  thirty-two  tor- 
pedo boats  in  the  Navy,  all  of  them  contracted 
for  prior  to  1898 ;  some,  however,  were  not  com- 
pleted until  a  number  of  years  later.  Their 
displacements  range  from  50  tons  to  378  tons, 
and  their  speed,  from  20  to  30  knots.  Their 
armament  consists  exclusively  of  torpedo  tubes 
and  small-caliber  guns.  This  type  of  torpedo 
vessel  has  not  been  a  success,  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  more  will  be  constructed;  as  in  bat- 
tleship construction,  the  tendency  is  to  in- 


142         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

creased  displacement,  and,  developed  in  that 
line,  torpedo  boats  become  torpedo-boat  de- 
stroyers. There  are  fifty  torpedo-boat  de- 
stroyers built  and  building,  ranging  in  displace- 
ment from  450  tons  to  1,000  tons,  and,  in  speed, 
from  28  to  32  knots.  The  sixteen  older  de- 
stroyers were  contracted  for  in  1898 ;  after  that 
no  others  were  undertaken  until  1907;  since 
then  34  have  been  taken  in  hand,  five  of  which 
were  completed  during  1911.  All  the  new  de- 
stroyers will  have  turbine  engines,  and  29  of 
them  will  burn  fuel  oil  exclusively.  The  arma- 
ments of  the  latest  vessels  will  consist  of  five 
4-inch  semi-automatic  guns  and  three  twin  deck 
torpedo  tubes. 

Torpedo  destroyers  form  an  important 
feature  of  the  Navy,  and  one  in  which  it  is 
somewhat  deficient,  although  the  deficiency  is 
being  made  up.  Other  navies  have  many  more 
torpedo  vessels  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
their  large  ships. 

Auxiliary  Vessels. — This  class  includes  hospital 
ships,  converted  cruisers,  transports,  colliers, 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY   143 

supply  ships,  and  repair  ships.  Practically  all 
the  older  auxiliary  vessels  in  the  Navy  are  con- 
verted merchant  ships  which  were  bought  and 
rearranged  to  suit  the  Navy's  requirements. 
Kecently  there  has  been  authorized  from  year  to 
year  the  construction  of  a  number  of  naval  col- 
liers, and  also  a  vessel  to  act  as  a  tender  for 
submarines;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  the  near 
future  Congress  also  will  authorize  at  intervals 
the  construction  of  vessels  especially  designed 
for  carrying  ammunition,  for  repair  ships,  and 
for  hospital  ships. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  27  colliers  built 
or  building,  8  transports  and  supply  ships,  of 
which  one  is  fitted  as  a  repair  ship,  4  auxiliary 
cruisers,  and  2  hospital  ships. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  number  of 
colliers  now  in  the  Navy  is  sufficient  to  provide 
coal  for  the  fleet  on  an  extended  cruise,  as,  for 
instance,  the  recent  one  around  the  world.  On 
such  a  cruise  it  becomes  necessary  to  charter 
merchant  ships  to  carry  the  coal.  The  number 
of  suitable  merchant  ships  flying  the  United 


144         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

States  flag  is  very  limited ;  therefore  it  is  likely 
that  in  the  event  of  war  with  a  foreign  coun- 
try the  United  States,  without  infringing  on 
the  neutrality  of  some  foreign  country,  would 
be  seriously  embarrassed  over  obtaining  vessels 
to  carry  coal.  Before  the  declaration  of  war 
with  Spain,  it  was  only  by  great  foresight  and 
prompt  action  that  a  sufficient  number  of  col- 
liers were  obtained  to  permit  of  the  United 
States  waging  the  war. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain  the 
United  States  purchased  a  large  number  of 
yachts,  which  were  converted  into  gunboats. 
Seventeen  of  these  still  remain  on  the  Navy 
list,  most  of  them  being  loaned  to  naval  militia 
organizations. 

NAMES  OF  NAVAL  VESSELS 

There  is  a  law  which  requires  that  all  battle- 
ships shall  be  named  after  States,  and  that  they 
shall  not  be  named  for  any  city,  place,  or  per- 
son until  the  names  of  the  States  have  been 
exhausted.  Beyond  this  requirement  the  Secre- 


OQ 


CLASSES  OF  SHIPS  IN  THE  NAVY   145 

tary  of  the  Navy  is  authorized  to  name  vessels 
of  the  Navy  as  he  sees  fit.  At  the  present  time 
the  policy  in  assigning  names  to  men-of-war 
is  that  battleships  and  armored  cruisers  be 
named  for  States,  protected  cruisers  and  gun- 
boats for  cities,  or  places,  torpedo  craft  for  dis- 
tinguished deceased  officers  of  the  Navy,  sub- 
marines for  fish  or  aquatic  animals,  and  colliers 
for  mythological  persons;  tugs  are  given  In- 
dian names,  and  such  sailing  vessels  as  have 
been  constructed  recently  were  named  after  dis- 
tinguished vessels  formerly  in  the  Navy.  When 
vessels  are  acquired  by  the  Navy,  their  names 
usually  are  changed. 

It  has  become  necessary  recently  to  change 
the  names  of  four  monitors  that  had  been  named 
for  States,  to  permit  the  use  of  those  names  for 
new  battleships.  Also  the  names  of  the  cruiser 
New  York  and  the  battleship  Texas  were 
changed  for  the  same  reason. 

The  names  of  distinguished  officers  assigned 
to  torpedo  craft  commemorate  many  brave  men 
and  their  heroic  deeds.  Such  names  as  Hull, 


146         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

Decatur,  Farragut,  Porter,  Rodger s,  and  Gush- 
ing are  well  known  to  all  students  of  naval  his- 
tory. Others  not  so  well  known  recall  deeds  no 
less  heroic,  many  of  them  having  gone  without 
previous  recognition.  One  of  the  most  obscure, 
but  no  less  striking  for  that  reason,  is  the  case 
of  the  Jarvis,  named  after  a  midshipman  of 
that  name.  Midshipman  Jarvis  was  in  the 
maintop  of  the  Constellation  during  an  engage- 
ment with  the  French  frigate  Vengeance  in 
February,  1800.  The  supports  of  the  mainmast 
were  shot  away,  and  even  though  warned  to 
save  himself,  this  officer  refused  to  leave  his 
post.  When  the  mast  fell,  he  was  carried  with 
it  and  killed. 

The  Monaglian  was  named  after  Ensign  Mon- 
aghan,  who  was  killed  in  an  engagement  with 
hostile  natives  in  Samoa  in  1899,  while  attempt- 
ing to  save  a  fellow  officer,  who  had  been 
wounded. 


CHAPTER  VI 
DESCRIPTION 

THE  press  of  the  United  States,  through  com- 
prehensive pictures  and  paragraphs,  continu- 
ally keeps  the  entire  public  in  touch  with  the 
Navy.  Therefore,  as  the  interest  of  so  many 
has  been  aroused,  it  has  been  suggested  that  a 
somewhat  detailed  description  of  a  battleship, 
and  explanation  of  its  points,  would  be  both 
interesting  and  instructive.  The  details  given 
apply  in  general  only  to  armored  vessels,  though 
some  of  the  features  are  included  also  in  the 
smaller  ships. 

DIMENSIONS 

The  size  of  a  ship  generally  is  expressed  in 
displacement,  given  in  tons.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  a  floating  body  displaces  a  volume  of 
water  equal  in  weight  to  the  weight  of  the  float- 

147 


148         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

ing  body;  thus  a  ship  displaces  a  volume  of 
water  equal  in  weight  to  itself,  making  the  num- 
ber of  tons  displacement  the  number  of  tons 
weight  of  the  ship.  A  vessel's  weight  may  be 
determined  by  calculating  the  volume  of  its  un- 
derwater body  in  cubic  feet,  and  from  that 
the  weight  of  the  corresponding  volume  of 
water. 

The  length  given  for  a  battleship  is  that  meas- 
ured along  the  water  line  at  which  the  ship 
would  float  when  fully  loaded,  called  the 
"  length  on  load  water  line,"  or  as  the  extreme 
length,  or  "  length  over  all."  The  breadth  or 
beam  is  given  as  the  * '  extreme  beam  at  the  load 
water  line."  The  draft  is  the  distance  below 
the  water  line  that  the  keel  is  immersed;  ob- 
viously this  varies  with  the  condition  of  load- 
ing and,  for  purposes  of  comparison,  the  draft 
usually  is  taken  at  some  fixed  displacement. 
As  the  vessel  does  not  always  float  on  "an 
even  keel,"  that  is,  with  the  keel  immersed  an 
equal  depth  along  its  length,  the  draft  may  be 
taken  as  the  "  extreme  draft,"  or  as  the  "  mean 


DESCRIPTION  149 

draft,"  which  is  the  draft  at  a  point  midway 
between  the  ends. 

SPEED 

The  speed  of  a  ship  is  given  in  knots  per 
hour.  A  knot  or  nautical  mile  equals  6,080.27 
feet,  while  a  statute  mile  is  5,280  feet;  thus  5 
knots  equals  roughly  6  statute  miles,  and  a  20- 
knot  vessel  has  a  speed  of  about  24  statute  miles. 

BATTERY 

The  guns  and  torpedo  tubes  collectively  of 
a  warship  are  called  the  battery,  the  larger  guns 
constituting  the  main  battery  and  the  smaller 
ones  the  secondary  battery.  As  has  been  seen, 
only  battleships,  some  few  armored  cruisers, 
and  monitors  carry  the  largest  size  guns,  but 
the  division  between  main  and  secondary  bat- 
tery is  maintained  in  all  classes  of  ships.  Thus 
in  a  battleship  the  main  battery  may  consist 
exclusively  of  14-inch  or  12-inch  guns;  in  an 
armored  cruiser  of  12-inch,  10-inch,  or  8-inch 
guns;  in  a  protected  cruiser  it  may  consist  ex- 


150         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

clusively  of  6-inch  guns,  while  on  a  gunboat  the 
main  battery  may  be  of  4-inch  guns  that  hardly 
would  be  large  enough  to  be  included  in  the 
secondary  battery  of  a  large  battleship. 

The  largest  size  guns,  those  above  7-inch, 
are  mounted  generally  in  pairs  in  electrically 
controlled,  elliptical,  balanced  turrets,  which 
inclose  entirely  the  rear  ends  or  breeches  of 
the  guns,  the  muzzles  only  projecting.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  in  the  future  three  guns  may  be 
mounted  in  each  turret;  this  arrangement  will 
require  firing  the  three  guns  in  each  turret 
simultaneously.  The  turrets  are  built  of  armor, 
with  inclined  fronts,  and  arranged  so  they  can 
be  turned,  carrying  the  guns  with  them;  the 
guns,  however,  under  the  present  system,  are 
elevated  and  fired  independently.  In  the  crew 
of  every  turret  there  are  three  gun-pointers,  one 
of  whom  keeps  the  turret  turned  so  that  both  the 
guns  point  in  the  direction  of  the  target.  The 
two  others,  one  for  each  gun,  bring  them  to  bear 
in  elevation  and  fire  them  when  loaded  and 
aimed.  The  turret  is  turned  and  the  guns  are 


DESCRIPTION  151 

elevated  by  electric  motors,  so  arranged  that 
they  can  be  controlled  readily  and  exactly  from 
sighting  stations.  The  turrets  are  balanced, 
that  is,  the  weight  of  the  turret  is  so  distributed 
as  to  compensate  for  the  weight  of  the  guns 
which  extend  from  its  front  side. 

At  the  present  time  only  14-inch  turret  guns 
are  being  installed  in  the  main  batteries  of  bat- 
tleships, though  formerly  12-inch  and  8-inch 
guns  were  installed  for  many  years,  and  prior  to 
that  13-inch  turret  guns  were  also  installed,  the 
usual  arrangement  being  two  turrets  with  12- 
inch  or  13-inch  guns  on  the  center  line,  and  four 
turrets  having  8-inch  guns,  two  on  each  side  of 
the  ship.  On  some  ships  8-inch  guns  have  been 
installed  in  superposed  turrets  over  the  12-inch 
guns — that  is,  two  12-inch  guns  and  two  8-inch 
guns  are  'installed  in  superposed  turrets,  all 
rotating  together.  This  arrangement  has  not 
proved  satisfactory,  and  has  been  abandoned. 
In  addition  to  the  turret  guns,  main  batteries  of 
battleships  include  5-inch,  6-inch,  or  7-inch; 
these  are  installed  as  "  broadside  guns,"  to  fire 


152         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

through  openings  in  the  side  or  "  gun  ports." 
Broadside  guns  have  no  protection  other  than 
that  afforded  by  the  armored  sides  of  the 
ship,  and  by  "  gun  shields  "  which  they 
themselves  carry,  and  they  can  be  fired  only 
on  one  side  through  a  comparatively  limited 
arc. 

The  modern  idea,  however,  is  to  have,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  main  battery  consist  of  guns 
of  the  maximum  caliber  and  of  the  same  size,  all 
mounted  in  turrets,  smaller  guns  being  installed 
only  for  use  against  torpedo  craft.  The  term 
"  all-big-gun  battleship  '•  was  coined  to  de- 
scribe a  ship  with  such  a  main  battery. 

Future  naval  battles  probably  will  be  fought 
at  extreme  ranges  beyond  the  reach  of  any  ex- 
cept the  largest  guns  of  the  main  battery. 
Small-caliber  guns,  however,  are  a  necessity  as 
a  protection  against  the  swift  torpedo  de- 
stroyers and  boats  which  move  too  rapidly  and 
in  too  large  numbers  to  be  attacked  by  the  com- 
paratively slow-moving  guns  of  the  main  bat- 
teries. 


DESCRIPTION 


153 


Field  guns  and  machine  guns  are  included  in 
the  ship's  battery  for  use  when  it  is  necessary 
to  land  a  force  from  the  ship  for  operations 
ashore ;  these  guns  are  comparatively  small,  and 


The  above  sketches  of  arrangement  of  battery  show  the  essen- 
tial differences  between  the  "all-big-gun"  battleship  and  the 
earlier  type  with  mixed  batteries.  The  English  Dreadnought, 
and  the  United  States  Delaware  and  Connecticut  are  shown, 
the  former  two  being  "  all-big-gun  "  ships. 

are  of  no  avail  except  against  bodies  of  men. 
A  complete  outfit  of  rifles  or  muskets  is  provided 
for  each  ship  also,  for  use  of  the  crew  when 


154         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

landed.  Nowadays  the  crews  of  all  naval  ships 
are  drilled  as  infantry,  and,  when  landed,  can 
do  the  work  of  soldiers.  Formerly  the  gun 
crews  of  men-of-war  were  armed  and  equipped 
for  hand-to-hand  fights  with  the  enemy,  either 
by  boarding  or  being  boarded.  Under  modern 
conditions  there  is  small  chance  of  such  con- 
tingency, and  now  no  arrangements  are  made 
to  provide  arms  for  hand-to-hand  fights  on 
shipboa-rd  during  naval  engagements. 

With  the  increase  in  the  size  of  torpedo  craft 
and  in  the  range  of  torpedoes,  it  has  been  neces- 
sary to  increase  the  size  of  the  guns  intended 
as  a  protection  against  them,  and  on  the  newest 
battleships  5-inch  guns  constitute  the  torpedo 
defense  battery. 

Formerly  torpedo  tubes  were  installed  above 
the  water  line  on  all  ships ;  it  is  the  custom  now 
on  battleships  and  cruisers  to  install  the  tubes 
below  the  water.  These  submerged  tubes  are 
fixed  in  place  and  cannot  be  moved  or  aimed 
before  firing  the  torpedo.  It  will  be  shown,  in 
describing  torpedoes,  how  it  is  possible  to 


DESCRIPTION  155 

launch  a  torpedo  broadside  on  and  have  it  turn 
in  the  water  in  the  direction  of  the  target. 

Guns  are  designated  as  breech-loading  rifles 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  old  style,  muzzle- 
loading,  smooth-bore  guns,  but,  as  only  the 
former  kind  now  are  used,  the  term  is  falling 
into  disuse.  Most  of  the  guns  for  the  Navy 
are  manufactured  at  the  Naval  Gun  Factory  at 


Longitudinal  section  of  a  12-inch  gun,  showing  the  number  of 
sections  or  tubes  and  hoops  of  which  it  is  built  up. 

Washington.  They  are  not  in  one  piece,  but  are 
built  up  of  several  tubes  of  wrought  steel,  the 
outer  tubes  being  shrunk  on  the  inner  ones — 
that  is,  the  outer  tubes  are  fitted,  when  hot,  over 
the  inner  one,  and  as  they  cool  they  contract 
and  grip  the  inner  tubes,  compressing  them  and 
giving  them  greater  power  to  resist  the 
enormous  forces  caused  by  firing  the  guns. 

Wire-bound  guns  also  have  been  used  in  for- 
eign navies,  and  in  the  United  States  coast  artil- 


156         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

lery,  but,  so  far,  no  use  has  been  made  of  them 
in  our  Navy.  All  modern  guns  are  rifled — that 
is,  grooves  are  cut  so  as  to  give  a  rotating  move- 
ment to  the  projectiles,  which  carry  copper 
bands  intended  to  be  forced  into  the  grooves  of 
the  rifling  when  the  guns  are  fired.  The  rotat- 
ing motion  thus  imparted  to  a  projectile  gives 
it  much  greater  accuracy  in  the  flight. 

The  length  of  a  gun  is  expressed  in  "  cali- 
bers," that  is,  if  a  12-inch  gun  is  50  calibers  in 
length,  it  is  50  times  12  inches,  or,  50  feet.  In 
the  same  way  a  50-caliber  8-inch  gun  would  be 
400  inches,  or  33  feet  4  inches. 

Certain  guns  are  designated  as  "  rapid-fire," 
because  of  their  construction  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  ammunition  permitting  great  rapid- 
ity of  loading  and  firing.  Rapid-fire  guns  may 
be  described  briefly  as  those  using  metallic 
cartridge  cases ;  the  largest  size  gun  permitting 
this  is  the  5-inch.  Guns  fitted  so  that  the  recoil 
from  one  shot  aids  in  loading  for  the  next  one, 
are  called  "  semi-automatic." 

The  science  of  ballistics  deals  with  the  action 


DESCRIPTION  157 

of  the  projectiles  when  fired,  and  by  that  science 
it  is  possible  to  calculate  the  exact  range,  trajec- 
tory, and  speed  of  a  projectile. 

The  turret  guns  of  the  battery  are  protected, 
as  has  been  noted,  by  the  turret  armor.  The 
turrets  are  supported  on  structures  protected 
by  armor  disposed  cylindrically  about  them 
called  barbettes ;  these  serve  also  to  protect  the 
mechanism  of  the  turrets.  The  barbette  armor 
extends  to  the  protective  deck  of  the  ship,  by 
which  it  is  supported. 

The  protective  deck  is  designed  to  prevent  the 
penetration  of  projectiles  from  above.  It  is 
located  at  about  the  water  line,  and  its  function 
primarily  is  to  protect  the  machinery,  boilers, 
powder-magazines,  etc.,  the  so-called  *  *  vitals  of 
the  ship  "  from  mortar  fire,  and  from  any  frag- 
ments of  shells  that  might  penetrate,  before  ex- 
ploding, the  armor  of  the  upper  works.  The 
protective  deck,  which  extends  the  full  length 
and  width  of  the  vessel,  and  is  similar  to  the 
back  of  a  turtle,  slopes  at  the  sides,  so  as  to 
bring  its  edge  to  the  bottom  of  the  main  belt 


158         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

side  armor;  therefore,  a  shell  passing  through 
the  side  armor  would  have  to  pierce  also  the 
protective  deck  before  it  could  reach  a  ship's 
vitals.  Below  the  belt  armor  the  side  of  the 
ship  is  unprotected,  and  thus  an  additional  rea- 
son is  seen  for  locating  this  armor,  so  that  un- 
der no  circumstances  would  its  lower  edge  come 
above  the  water  and  expose  the  part  below  to 
gun  fire.  On  future  battleships  it  is  expected 
that  there  will  be  a  second  protective  deck, 
which  will  be  flat  and  will  be  placed  on  the  level 
of  the  upper  edge  of  the  belt  armor. 

Behind  the  belt  armor  and  at  the  water  line 
cofferdams  are  fitted.  These  are  box-shaped 
compartments,  arranged  so  that  when  the  outer 
skin  of  the  ship,  adjacent  to  one  of  them,  is 
damaged,  the  water  entering  will,  unless  the 
projectile  has  passed  completely  through  it, 
fill  only  the  cofferdam.  Frequently  cofferdams 
are  packed  with  obturating  material,  such  as 
compressed  corn  pith,  which  swells  when  wet 
and  stops  the  flow  of  water. 

The  portion  of  the  ship  below  the  water  line, 


DESCRIPTION  159 

called  the  under-water  body,  is  not  protected 
by  armor.  It  is  subject  to  attack  only  by  sub- 
marine mines  and  torpedoes,  but  it  is  subdivided 
into  a  number  of  compartments  by  an  outer  and 
inner  bottom,  and  by  bulkheads,  thereby  limit- 
ing the  space  to  which,  by  a  single  explosion, 
water  can  gain  access,  and  preventing  serious 
injury  to  the  floating  power. 

On  certain  recent  battleships  interior  armor 
has  been  fitted  also  to  aid  in  limiting  the  dam- 
age due  to  torpedo  explosion. 

ARMOR 

The  use  of  steel  or  iron  plates  for  protection 
of  ships  against  projectiles  was  proposed  first 
in  1812.  Like  many  other  brilliant  ideas,  when 
first  proposed,  it  was  not  considered  necessary 
nor  practical.  In  1854  Congress  appropriated 
money  for  an  ironclad,  which  was  never  com- 
pleted. During  the  Civil  War  the  first  armor- 
clads  were  tested  in  actual  warfare  with  such 
success  that  the  future  of  armor  protection  of 
ships  was  assured. 


160         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

At  the  present  day  Krupp  armor  is  used  ex- 
clusively in  the  Navy,  it  having  supplanted  en- 
tirely the  Harveyized  armor  of  ten  years  ago. 
The  Krupp  armor  process  consists  essentially 
in  making  steel  plates  as  tough  and  unyielding 
as  possible,  and  then  "  face  hardening  "  them, 
causing  the  metal  to  take  up  additional  car- 
bon, which  is  called  "  cementation."  This 
method  produces  armor  plate  having  the 
greatest  possible  resistance  to  penetration 
by  projectiles.  The  process  of  manufacture 
of  armor  plates  is  extremely  tedious  and 
difficult. 

The  armor  plates  are  attached  to  vessels  by 
bolting  them  to  the  side  plating  of  the  ship's 
structure,  which  is  especially  reinforced  and 
strengthened  behind  the  armor.  A  thickness  of 
from  three  to  four  inches  of  teak  wood  is  fitted 
between  the  heavier  armor  plates  and  the  ship 
plating.  This  wood  is  intended  to  allow  for 
irregularities  in  the  armor  plates,  and  to  permit 
them  to  be  fitted  so  as  to  present  an  even  ex- 
terior surface. 


DESCRIPTION  161 

ARMOR  PROTECTION 

Owing  to  the  great  weight  that  is  added  to  a 
battleship  by  the  armor,  it  is  possible  only  to 
use  it  to  protect  the  vitals,  and  it  must  be  dis- 
posed so  as  to  give  the  maximum  protection 
with  a  limited  amount  of  armor.  The  hull 
proper  of  the  battleship  is  protected,  and  its 
water-tightness  and  flotability  guaranteed  by  a 
belt  of  armor  along  the  water  line.  This  has 
its  maximum  thickness  and  width  amidships, 
where  are  the  engines  and  boilers.  The  main 
belt  armor  is  of  sufficient  width  to  insure  pro- 
tection in  the  vicinity  of  the  water  line,  as  that 
rises  and  falls  with  the  varying  conditions  of 
load.  It  is  obvious  that  the  position  of  the  main 
belt  armor  must  be  determined  by  considering 
the  probable  positions  of  the  water  line  during 
battle.  Persons  may  fall  into  error  and  think 
that  the  armor  belt  is  too  low  because  they  see  a 
ship  floating  with  it  nearly  submerged.  In  such 
a  case  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  ship 
probably  is  laden  very  heavily,  and  that  when 


162         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

the  coal,  fresh  water,  stores,  etc.,  going  to 
make  up  the  load  are  used,  the  ship  will  rise, 
and  also  that  no  ship  ever  will  go  to  battle 
with  any  more  of  a  load  than  is  absolutely 
essential. 

Above  the  belt  armor  the  lighter  so-called 
"  casemate  armor  "  is  fitted,  which  is  intended 
to  protect  the  top  sides,  the  guns  of  the  sec- 
ondary battery,  and  the  ship 's  interior  arrange- 
ments and  mechanisms. 

ENGINES 

For  many  years,  since  the  abandoning  of 
sails  on  men-of-war,  exclusive  use  was  made 
for  their  propulsion  of  reciprocating  steam 
engines ;  these  are  of  the  familiar  type  in  which 
the  steam  acts  by  forcing  pistons  back  and 
forth,  which,  by  means  of  cranks,  cause  the  pro- 
peller shaft  to  revolve.  These  shafts  have  at 
their  ends,  which  project  into  the  water,  screw 
propellers,  and  by  the  action  of  these  against 
the  water  the  ship  is  propelled.  Reciprocating 
steam  engines  for  propelling  naval  ships  are 


DESCRIPTION  163 

operated  on  a  principle  of  triple  expansion — 
that  is,  the  steam  operates  in  three  stages,  first 
on  one  piston,  called  the  high-pressure,  then  on 
a  second,  called  the  intermediate-pressure  pis- 
ton, and  then  on  two  others,  called  low-pressure 
pistons.  After  the  steam  has  acted  on  the  low- 
pressure  pistons  it  is  conducted  to  the  con- 
denser, which  is  kept  cool  by  the  circulation  of 
water  from  the  sea.  The  steam  is  condensed 
and  forms  a  vacuum  in  the  condenser,  which 
aids  in  moving  the  low-pressure  pistons  by  pull- 
ing on  the  side  on  which  the  steam  is  not 
acting. 

Recent  developments  have  introduced  the 
turbine  steam  engine.  This  functions  on  an  en- 
tirely different  principle  from  that  of  the  recip- 
rocating engine.  Essentially  in  principle  the 
turbine  is  not  dissimilar  to  a  windmill ;  instead 
of  the  wings  of  a  windmill  acted  on  by  the  wind, 
in  the  case  of  a  turbine  the  steam  impinges 
through  jets,  suitably  disposed,  on  buckets,  or 
vanes,  fitted  to  the  circumferences  of  large 
wheels  or  rotors,  thus  causing  them  to  turn. 


164         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

There  are  numbers  of  rotors,  all  fixed  directly 
to  the  propeller  shafts,  and  thus  there  is  no  in- 
termediary of  piston  rods,  cranks,  etc.  In  a 
turbine,  as  in  a  reciprocating  engine,  steam 
operates  in  successive  stages  and  passes  finally 
to  the  condenser.  The  turbine  engine  has  many 
advantages,  and  some  decided  disadvantages 
over  the  old-style  engines.  The  turbine  ren- 
ders possible  higher  speed  of  propulsion  of 
ships  and,  by  the  absence  of  reciprocating  parts, 
does  away  with  vibration  to  so  large  an  extent 
that  a  turbine  ship  vibrates  barely  perceptibly. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  turbine  does  not  lend  it- 
self so  readily  to  lower  speeds  of  propulsion, 
and  has  the  decided  disadvantage  of  not  revers- 
ing, so  that,  to  run  the  propellers  backwards, 
for  backing  the  ship,  additional  turbines  in  an 
opposite  direction  are  installed.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  for  vessels  where  high  speed  is 
desired,  turbine  engines  will  supplant  recipro- 
cating engines.  They  are  especially  suited  for 
torpedo  craft,  and  are  being  fitted  on  all  recent 
torpedo  destroyers. 


DESCRIPTION  165 

TWIN   SCREWS 

Until  the  advent  of  turbine  engines  for  ship 
propulsion,  twin  screws  were  the  rule  for  war- 
ships. While  more  expensive  than  the  single 
screw  arrangement,  they  present  a  great  ad- 
vantage in  offering  more  facility  of  maneuver- 
ing. Through  having  the  propellers  one  on 
each  side,  and  by  operating  them  at  different 
speeds  or  in  different  directions,  the  vessel  can 
be  turned  more  readily  than  is  possible  by  using 
the  rudder  alone  with  a  single  propeller  on  the 
center  line.  With  the  use  of  certain  forms  of 
turbine  engines,  the  speed  of  revolution  is  so 
great  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  have  four 
propellers.  This  is  done  in  order  that  the 
requisite  power  may  be  obtained  without  unduly 
increasing  the  diameter  of  the  propeller  blades, 
and  consequently  the  speed  of  their  tips.  An- 
other type  of  turbine  engine,  through  having  a 
slower  speed  of  revolution,  permits  of  the  use 
of  twin  screws. 

Formerly    triple-screw    arrangements    were 


166         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

tried  on  certain  high-speed  ships.  These,  how- 
ever, were  found  to  present  no  advantages  over 
the  twin-screw  arrangement,  when  reciprocating 
engines  were  used.  Some  recent  torpedo  de- 
stroyers fitted  with  turbines  have  triple  screws. 

HORSEPOWER 

The  power  of  engines  is  given  in  horsepower; 
this  expresses  the  power  to  do  work.  One 
horsepower  is  defined  as  being  the  amount  of 
work  necessary  to  raise  a  weight  of  550  pounds 
one  foot  in  a  second — thus,  a  vessel's  12,000 
horsepower  engines  would  be  able  to  raise  550 
X  12,000,  or  6,600,000  pounds,  one  foot  every 
second.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  engines 
actually  do  this,  but  it  means  that  the  work 
which  the  engines  do  in  turning  the  propeller 
would,  if  applied  to  lifting  weight,  do  this 
amount. 

BOILERS 

The  familiar  type  of  boiler,  a  large  cylin- 
drical vessel  with  a  furnace  beneath  and  tubes 
passing  through,  to  permit  the  heat  from  the 


DESCRIPTION  167 

flames  and  heated  gases  to  come  into  contact 
with  the  water,  formerly  was  used  on  naval 
vessels.  This  type  is  known  as  the  "  fire-tube  " 
or  "  Scotch  boiler."  In  recent  years  the 
11  water-tube  boiler  "  has  supplanted  the  fire- 
tube  boiler  for  naval  use.  The  water-tube 
boiler  differs  essentially  from  the  fire-tube  type 
in  having  a  series  of  tubes  to  contain  the  water. 
These  tubes  are  disposed  around  and  in  the 
furnace  so  as  to  obtain  maximum  effect  from 
the  fire  in  transforming  the  water  into  steam — 
the  purpose  of  the  boiler.  The  steam  is  re- 
ceived in  a  cylindrical  vessel  or  drum  disposed 
at  the  top  of  the  boiler,  and  joined  to  the  water 
tubes,  and  thence  is  conducted  to  the  engines. 

The  advantage  of  the  water-tube  boiler  over 
the  fire-tube  boiler  consists  in  its  greater  ef- 
ficiency and  lightness,  and  in  its  more  rapid 
action,  which  permits  greater  forcing. 

There  are  many  different  types  of  water-tube 
boilers,  some  of  which  differ  radically  in  prin- 
ciple and  method  of  operation.  One  type,  the 
Babcock  and  Wilcox,  has  been  used  almost  ex- 


168         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

clusively  on  vessels  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  until 
recently. 

FORCED  DRAFT 

At  times,  in  order  to  drive  the  vessel  at  its 
maximum  speed,  it  becomes  necessary  to  obtain 
the  greatest  amount  of  steam  possible  from  the 
boilers;  to  do  this,  forced  draft  is  used.  A 
forced  draft,  by  supplying  more  air  to  the  fires, 
causes  them  to  burn  with  more  heat  and  results 
in  greater  and  more  rapid  evaporation  of  steam. 
The  air  is  forced  into  the  fire  rooms,  or  stoke 
holds,  by  means  of  centrifugal  fans.  By  their  use 
a  higher  air  pressure  than  outside  is  produced 
in  the  fire  rooms.  All  other  openings  being  kept 
closed,  the  air  can  escape  only  through  the  fur- 
naces and  chimneys,  causing  the  desired  addi- 
tional or  forced  draft.  The  extra  speed  gained 
by  a  battleship  from  using  the  forced  draft  is 
sometimes  as  much  as  2  to  3  knots. 

FUEL 

For  many  years  coal  was  the  only  fuel  used 
successfully  on  ships,  but  for  a  number  of  years 
merchant  ships  burning  oil  or  petroleum  have 


DESCRIPTION  169 

operated  with  success  and  economy,  and  recent 
battleships  and  torpedo  destroyers  have  been 
designed  to  burn  oil  fuel.  Some  of  the  battle- 
ships use  it  in  connection  with  coal,  but  other 
more  recent  battleships  and  the  destroyers  are 
dependent  entirely  on  oil  fuel.  A  decided  ad- 
vantage arising  from  the  use  of  oil  fuel  is  the 
absence  of  smoke  caused  by  coal.  This  is  a  very 
great  advantage  in  time  of  war,  as  vessels  often 
are  located  by  their  smoke  long  before  they  can 
be  seen. 

Coal  is  carried  in  bunkers  which  must  be  so 
disposed  as  to  permit  the  coal  being  readily  ac- 
cessible to  the  fire  rooms.  On  men-of-war  it  is 
disposed  also  with  a  view  to  the  protection  it 
affords  from  projectiles  and  torpedoes,  and,  for 
that  reason,  the  coal  bunkers  usually  extend  the 
full  length,  on  each  side  of  the  boiler  and  engine 
compartments.  Besides  the  arrangements  that 
must  be  made  to  permit  the  coal  to  be  trans- 
ported readily  from  the  bunkers  to  the  fire 
rooms,  provision  must  be  made  for  readily  tak- 
ing on  coal  from  a  collier  or  a  coal  barge,  along- 


170         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

side,  to  the  bunkers  of  the  ship.  "  Coaling 
ship,"  as  the  operation  of  taking  on  coal  is 
called,  is  an  important  event  on  a  man-of-war.  It 
must  be  performed  expeditiously,  so  as  not  un- 
duly to  delay  the  vessel.  Special  coaling  booms 
and  hoisting  whips  are  arranged  to  hoist  the 
coal  on  deck,  whence  it  is  dumped  through 
chutes  to  the  bunkers  below,  coal-passers  being 
stationed  in  the  bunkers  to  "  trim  "  the  coal, 
that  is,  to  shovel  it  away  from  the  bottom  of 
the  chute  so  that  the  bunker  will  fill  evenly. 
Great  rivalry  exists  between  the  crews  of  dif- 
ferent ships  as  to  speed  in  coaling,  the  largest 
amount  taken  on  by  a  United  States  battleship 
so  far  being  over  500  tons  in  one  hour. 

The  problem  of  taking  on  oil  fuel  is  much 
simpler,  as  it  can  be  pumped  through  pipes,  ap- 
propriately arranged,  directly  into  the  oil  tanks. 
If  this  were  the  only  consideration  there  can  be 
no  question  as  to  the  choice  of  fuel  for  the  Navy. 
Oil  fuel,  however,  is  difficult  to  store,  as  it  is 
very  penetrating,  and  leaks  through  joints  that 
would  not  allow  water  to  pass;  also,  its  cost 


DESCRIPTION  171 

and  the  comparative  difficulty  of  obtaining  it, 
operate  against  its  general  adoption.  It  offers 
the  additional  disadvantage  of  being  more  diffi- 
cult to  operate  with  success.  It  is  sprayed  into 
the  furnaces  by  means  of  steam  pressure  and, 
strangely  enough,  the  steam  mixes  with  the  oil 
and  provides  oxygen  for  its  consumption.  It 
can  be  used  auxiliary  to  coal,  or  by  itself. 

ELETTRIC    PLANT 

On  modern  battleships  practically  all  of  the 
mechanical  operations,  excepting  only  the  pro- 
pulsion and  steering  of  the  ship  itself,  and  hoist- 
ing of  anchors,  are  carried  out  by  electrically 
driven  machinery.  Electric  motors  operate  the 
boat  cranes  and  deck  winches,  which  hoist  the 
boats,  coal,  and  stores ;  the  ventilating  blowers ; 
fresh- water  pumps;  the  ammunition  hoists; 
some  of  the  pumps ;  the  automatically  controlled 
doors  in  water-tight  bulkheads;  the  dish-wash- 
ing machine,  ice  cream  freezer,  meat  grinder,  and 
the  laundry  machinery,  and  potato  peeler.  The 
turrets  are  turned  and  their  guns  elevated  by 


172         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

electric  motors.  The  ship  is  lighted  throughout 
by  electric  lamps.  Cooking  is  carried  out  on 
electric  ranges,  and  heating  the  ship  by  elec- 
tricity is  under  discussion.  Without  its  elec- 
tric plant  a  battleship  would  be  nearly  helpless ; 
for  that  reason  its  installation  is  most  im- 
portant, and  accordingly  carefully  designed  and 
arranged.  The  most  recent  ships  laid  down  will 
be  fitted  with  electrically  operated  steering  and 
anchor-hoisting  arrangements. 

RAM 

Formerly  men-of-war  were  fitted  with  a  ram 
on  their  bows,  with  the  idea  that  an  enemy's 
ship  might  be  attacked  by  ramming.  This  actu- 
ally occurred  during  the  Civil  War,  and  vessels 
were  sunk,  due  to  damage  inflicted  by  ramming. 
It  has  been  concluded,  in  recent  years,  that 
hostile  ships  would  not  approach  one  another 
near  enough  for  that  purpose,  owing  to  the 
power  of  the  modern  guns  and  the  danger  from 
torpedoes.  Rams,  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more 
accurate  to  say  ram  bows,  are  fitted  on  recent 


DESCRIPTION  173 

ships  because  it  was  determined  by  means  of  ex- 
periments in  the  model  basin  at  Washington, 
that  the  form  of  a  vessel  having  such  a  bow  of- 
fers less  resistance  to  propulsion  than  one  with- 
out it. 

WATER-TIGHT  SUBDIVISION 

The  most  important  safeguard  that  a  ship 
has  against  foundering  is  its  water-tight  sub- 
divisions. This  is  the  division  of  the  ship  into 
compartments  by  means  of  bulkheads,  or  parti- 
tions, which  are  water-tight,  and,  in  case  the 
hull  is  pierced  and  water  floods  one  of  the  com- 
partments, it  is  prevented  from  spreading  by 
these  bulkheads.  This  feature  is  particularly 
important  in  men-of-war,  which  are  liable  to 
injury  by  projectiles,  or  by  torpedo  and  sub- 
marine mine  explosions,  in  addition  to  the  dam- 
ages from  collision,  grounding,  etc. 

A  modern  battleship  is  subdivided  into  more 
than  500  water-tight  compartments,  any  one  of 
which  could  be  flooded  without  the  water  pene- 
rating  beyond  it,  provided  its  doors  were  closed. 


174         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

In  order  to  insure,  in  case  of  accident,  the  clos- 
ing of  the  doors  in  the  most  important  bulk- 
heads, they  are  fitted  on  some  ships  with  elec- 
tric motors  by  means  of  which  they  may  be 
closed  by  the  officer  of  the  deck  at  the  first 
warning.  On  some  recent  battleships  there  are 
more  than  forty  such  power-operated,  water- 
tight doors.  Other  openings  in  water-tight 
bulkheads  are  fitted  with  hand-operated  water- 
tight doors,  which  are  designed  to  resist  as 
strong  water  pressure  as  the  bulkheads  to  which 
they  are  fitted. 

WIRELESS  TELEGRAPHY 

The  greatest  aid  to  navigation  of  modern 
years  is  the  wireless  telegraph.  By  its  means 
vessels  out  of  sight  of  each  other,  up  to  300 
miles  apart,  and  often  at  greater  distances,  can 
communicate  more  readily  than  formerly  they 
could  when  lying  in  harbor  within  sight  of  one 
another.  All  ships  of  the  United  States  Navy 
are  fitted  with  wireless  telegraph,  and,  in  addi- 
tion, the  Navy  maintains  a  number  of  stations 


DESCRIPTION  175 

along  the  coast  to  receive  and  transmit  com- 
munications to  ships.  The  only  external  evi- 
dence of  a  ship 's  being  fitted  with  wireless  tele- 
graph is  the  aerial  wires  which  are  suspended 
in  the  form  of  antennas  from  the  top  of  the 
highest  mast,  the  operating  room  generally  be- 
ing placed  behind  the  armored  sides  of  the  ship 
where  the  instruments  would  be  safe  in  battle. 
In  order  to  insure  against  the  wireless  being 
placed  out  of  commission  through  loss  of  the 
mast  in  battle,  on  those  ships  which  have  fire- 
control  towers,  the  aerial  wires  are  supported 
from  these  towers,  which,  as  will  be  seen,  are 
designed  especially  to  stand  even  when  pierced 
by  gun  fire.  It  has  been  found  to  be  possible, 
also,  to  fit  aerial  wires  on  the  side  of  the  ship 
away  from  the  enemy,  low  down  near  the  water, 
so  as  to  be  protected  by  the  ship  itself.  This 
will  give  a  means  of  communicating  shorter 
distances  if,  in  battle,  the  regular  aerial  wires 
are  shot  away. 

A  special  naval  wireless  telegraph  station  is 
now  under  construction  near  Washington.  This 


176         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

will  be  able,  it  is  expected,  to  communicate  with 
ships  3,000  miles  distant. 

The  distance  at  which  it  is  possible  to  com- 
municate by  wireless  telegraph  varies  consid- 
erably, due  to  different  conditions,  all  of  which 
are  not  understood.  Nighttime  is  the  best  for 
communicating,  it  being  possible  often  to  double 
the  distances  attained  in  daytime.  The  distance 
at  which  communication  may  be  had  is  increased 
by  the  height  of  the  tower  supporting  the  aerial 
wires,  and  by  the  power  of  the  instruments. 

MILITARY  MASTS  AND  FIRE-CONTROL 
TOWERS 

The  fighting  top  and  military  masts  in  the 
older  warships  have  been  supplanted  in  the 
most  recent  ones  by  a  structure  called  the  fire- 
control  tower.  The  earliest  war  vessels,  even, 
were  provided  with  raised  structures  in  which 
armed  men  might  be  stationed  to  harass  the 
enemy  by  musketry  fire  or  with  hand  grenades. 
This  method  of  fighting  was  most  effective  in 
deciding  the  outcome  of  battles  in  the  days  when 


DESCRIPTION  177 

two  war  vessels  lay  alongside  one  another  and 
fought  "  yard-arm-to-yard-arm."  Lord  Nel- 
son, while  on  the  decks  of  the  Victory,  was 
killed  during  the  battle  of  Trafalgar  by  a 
musket  shot  fired  by  a  marine  in  the  mizzen 
top  of  the  French  vessel  Redoubtable,  which  was 
lying  alongside  of  the  Victory. 

In  former  armored  ships  the  so-called  mili- 
tary masts  were  fitted  with  rapid-fire  cannon 
of  small  caliber  for  the  similar  purpose  of  an- 
noying and  harassing  the  enemy  when  at  suf- 
ficiently close  quarters  to  bring  these  guns  into 
range.  There  is  no  chance,  however,  under 
modern  conditions  of  two  hostile  battleships 
approaching  one  another  close  enough  to  make 
effective  guns  of  the  small  caliber  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  put  in  the  fighting-tops.  The  small 
cannon,  therefore,  were  doomed  along  with  the 
military  masts. 

Under  present  conditions,  as  they  are  under- 
stood, the  need  for  an  elevated  structure  on  a 
battleship  consists  in  the  requirement  for  signal 
yards,  for  a  support  for  the  aerial  wires  for 


178         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

the  wireless  telegraph,  and  for  stations  for  the 
fire-control  observers.  It  is  to  this  latter  func- 
tion that  the  fire-control  tower  owes  its  name. 
The  requirements  for  fire-control  towers  are, 
that  observers  should  be  sufficiently  elevated 
above  the  water  to  permit  them  to  see  the  fall  of 
the  projectiles,  to  determine  whether  the  gun- 
pointers  are  aiming  too  high  or  too  low,  and 
whether  the  projectiles  are  falling  over  or  short. 
Information  is  transmitted  from  the  towers  to 
the  sight-setters  to  enable  them  to  correct  any 
error  in  the  range  to  bring  the  guns  to  bear 
on  the  target. 

The  type  of  fire-control  tower  or  cage  mast, 
as  it  is  called,  recently  adopted  and  installed  on 
all  United  States  armored  vessels  was  designed 
to  meet  the  above-stated  requirements  for  an 
elevated  structure  about  120  feet  above  the 
water,  which  would  combine  lightness  with  abil- 
ity to  withstand,  without  falling,  partial  de- 
struction by  projectiles.  These  fire-control 
towers  are  constructed  of  steel  tubing  latticed 
together,  having  at  the  tops  platforms  on  which 


DESCRIPTION  179 

the  observers  and  range-finders  may  be 
mounted.  Many  of  the  units  of  such  a  mast 
can  be  shot  away  without  causing  it  to  fall. 

Searchlights  are  provided  on  warships  for  the 
purpose,  incidentally,  of  aiding  in  navigating 
the  ship  in  harbors,  etc.,  at  night,  but  primarily 
for  use  in  discovering  hostile  torpedo  craft, 
which  might  attack  under  cover  of  the  dark- 
ness. For  this  reason  the  searchlights  are 
mounted  in  elevated  positions  above  the  upper 
deck,  and  are  so  disposed  as  to  throw  their 
beams  in  every  direction.  The  searchlights 
consist  of  electric  arc  lamps,  their  rays  being 
projected  by  large  reflectors.  The  lights  can  be 
turned  in  any  direction  by  the  operator  to  bring 
into  view  objects  miles  distant  in  their  range. 

AMMUNITION 

The  explosive  most  commonly  used  for  all 
guns  is  smokeless  powder.  Formerly  brown 
powder,  which  has  the  familiar  ingredients  of 
saltpeter,  charcoal,  and  sulphur,  was  used. 
Brown  powder,  owing  to  the  dense  smoke  it  gen- 


180         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

erated,  which  interfered  with  sighting  suc- 
cessive shots,  and  its  inferiority  to  smokeless 
powder,  in  other  respects,  has  been  abandoned 
definitely.  Smokeless  powder  not  only  causes 
practically  no  smoke  nor  fumes,  but  has  the 
advantage  over  brown  powder  of  fouling  less 
the  bores  of  guns,  and  also  of  giving  greater 
velocity  to  projectiles  with  less  weight  of  pow- 
der. Smokeless  powder  is  made  from  ordinary 
cotton  by  treating  it  with  acids,  and  by  purify- 
ing; it  is  translucent  and  varies  in  color  from 
light  lemon  to  a  deep  brown.  It  is  ordinarily 
in  the  form  of  small  cylindrical  pieces  pierced 
through  their  length  by  numbers  of  small  holes. 
Over  half  of  the  smokeless  powder  for  the 
Navy  is  manufactured  at  the  U.  S.  Naval  Prov- 
ing Grounds  at  Indian  Head,  Md.,  the  remainder 
being  purchased  from  private  firms  manufactur- 
ing it.  Many  precautions  have  to  be  taken  in 
the  handling  and  storage  of  smokeless  powder, 
as  it  is  liable  to  deteriorate  under  unfavorable 
conditions,  and  explode.  The  explosion  that 
blew  up  the  French  battleship  Jena,  several 


DESCRIPTION  181 

years  ago,  is  attributed  to  spontaneous  explo- 
sion, in  her  magazines,  of  deteriorated  smoke- 
less powder. 

PROJECTILES 

All  projectiles,  or  shells,  as  they  are  called 
sometimes,  are  cylindrical  in  shape,  with  a 
pointed  ogival-shaped  end.  Their  form  and  di- 
mensions have  been  worked  out  carefully  in  or- 
der that  they  will  travel  true  and  without  *  *  tum- 
bling." Each  projectile  is  fitted  with  a  band 
of  soft  copper,  or  similar  metal,  which  presses 
into  the  rifling  of  the  gun  and  transmits  to  the 
projectile  the  rotating  motion  which  causes  it 
to  travel  true  and  straight  on  its  trajectory, 
thereby  representing  the  advantage  of  rifled 
guns  over  smooth-bore  guns.  There  are  three 
general  classes  of  projectiles,  viz. :  Armor-pierc- 
ing, common,  and  shrapnel.  Armor-piercing 
projectiles,  or  shells,  as  they  are  called  ordina- 
rily, are  intended  to  be  used  against  the  armored 
sides  of  ships,  and  have  hardened  points  for 
piercing  armor.  In  addition  they  are  fitted 


182         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

with  a  cap  of  soft  steel,  which  has  the  effect  of 
increasing,  about  20  per  cent.,  the  ability  of  the 
projectile  to  penetrate  armor.  The  action  of 
the  soft  steel  is  not  understood  with  certainty, 
the  explanation  commonly  accepted  being  that 
the  first  shock  of  impact  bends  in  the  hard  plate, 
while  the  projectile  pierces  its  cap;  the  hard 
point  of  the  projectile  then  strikes  the  hard 
surface  of  the  armor  when  it  is  bent  in  nearly  to 
its  breaking  point,  and  enters  more  easily. 
Armor-piercing  shells  have  a  bursting  charge 
of  black  powder,  or  high  explosive,  and  are  fit- 
ted with  a  fuse  designed  to  explode  the  charge 
in  the  projectile  after  it  has  pierced  the  armor. 
Common  shell  are  intended  for  use  against 
unarmored  vessels,  fortifications,  etc.  They  are 
made,  usually,  of  cast  steel,  one  of  the  require- 
ments that  they  must  fulfil  being  that  when  ex- 
ploded they  shall  break  into  a  great  number  of 
fragments.  They  also  have  a  bursting  charge 
which  is  somewhat  larger  than  that  of  the 
armor-piercer.  They  are  not  used  generally  in 
guns  larger  than  6  inches. 


DESCRIPTION 


183 


Shrapnel  are  designed  for  use  against  bodies 
of  men  and  have  little  application  to  the  larger 
size  guns  of  men-of-war,  except  to  fire  against 
torpedo  craft  or  against  bodies  of  troops  on 


CROSS-SECTIONS  OF  PKOJECTILES 

1.  12-inch  common  shell. 

2.  12-inch  armor-piercing  shell. 

3.  6-inch  common  shell. 

4.  6-inch  armor-piercing  shell. 

5.  8-inch  shrapnel. 

shore,  when  blue-jackets  or  marines  are  assist- 
ing at  land  operations.  Shrapnel  have,  besides 
the  bursting  charge,  a  number  of  balls  about 
half  an  inch  in  diameter.  For  so-called  rapid- 


184         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

fire  guns  "  fixed  ammunition  "  is  provided — 
that  is,  the  powder  charge  is  in  a  brass  cartridge 
case,  in  the  end  of  which  is  fixed  the  projectile, 
the  whole  resembling,  though  many  times  larger, 
a  rifle-ball  cartridge.  This  arrangement  is  pos- 
sible only  for  guns  as  large  as  five  inches  in 
caliber.  As  a  six-inch  projectile  weighs  100 
pounds,  fixed  ammunition  would  be  too  heavy. 
For  the  guns  of  six  inches  in  caliber,  or  larger, 
the  powder  charges  are  put  up  in  silk  bags  and 
stored  in  copper  tanks,  from  which  they  are  re- 
moved just  before  being  entered  in  the  gun, 
after  the  projectile  is  in  place. 

The  weights  of  projectiles  for  guns  of  the 
various  calibers  are  approximately: — 

4-inch —    33  pounds 

5-inch—     50  " 

6-inch—  100  " 

8-inch—  250  " 

10-inch—  500  " 

12-inch—  850  " 

13-inch— 1100  " 

14-inch— 1400  " 


DESCRIPTION  185 

The  weight  of  the  powder  charge  usually  is 
about  one-third  of  that  of  the  projectile. 

The  cost  of  firing  the  big  guns  is  compara- 
tively large.  For  a  14-inch  gun  the  projectile 
costs  about  $525,  the  powder  charge  about  $275. 
For  a  12-inch  gun  the  total  cost  of  projectile  and 
powder  is  about  $500.  In  addition  each  shot 
fired  shortens  the  life  of  a  big  gun  by  wearing 
away  the  rifling.  Recent  improvements  have 
done  much  to  lessen  this  damage ;  the  life  of  a 
12-inch  gun  now  generally  is  considered  to  be 
not  in  excess  of  250  rounds,  though,  by  relining 
a  worn-out  gun,  it  may  be  made  as  good,  prac- 
tically, as  when  new.  The  cost  of  a  14-inch  gun 
with  its  carriage  is  about  $110,000. 

FUSES 

All  shells  having  a  bursting  charge  are  fitted 
in  their  bases  with  fuses  which  are  intended  to 
explode  the  charge  at  the  proper  time.  Fuses 
are  especially  constructed  devices,  which,  when 
exploded  by  the  action  of  the  mechanism,  ignite 
the  bursting  charge;  they  may  be  arranged 


186 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 


either  to  explode  on  impact  of  the  projectile,  or 
after  a  certain  fixed  time  has  elapsed.  There 
are  many  different  types,  all  of  them  so  com- 
plicated that  a  description  of  their  operation 
would  be  out  of  place. 


MAGAZINE. 


The  simplest  form  of  fuse,  of  which  a  sketch 
is  shown,  consists  essentially  of  a  plunger,  held 
by  a  soft  wire,  and  a  percussion  cap.  When  the 
projectile  strikes,  the  plunger  breaks  the  wire 
and  detonates  the  cap,  which  in  turn  causes  the 
explosion  of  the  charge  in  the  projectile.  This 
type  is  called  a  percussion  fuse.  Other  types 
are  arranged  so  that  the  detonating  cap  lights 
a  train  of  powder,  which  burns  for  a  short  space 
of  time  before  exploding  the  charge  in  the 
projectile.  These  are  called  delayed-action 
fuses,  or  time  fuses. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HIGH  EXPLOSIVES;  MINES;  TORPEDOES; 
AEROPLANES 

HIGH   EXPLOSIVES 

IN  addition  to  smokeless  powder,  which  is 
the  commonest  explosive,  and  is  used  only  for 
charges  for  guns,  the  Navy  makes  use  of  vari- 
ous so-called  high  explosives  for  charging  tor- 
pedoes, for  submarine  mines,  high  explosive 
shell,  etc.  The  high  explosive  most  commonly 
made  use  of  is  gun  cotton,  which  is  more  highly 
explosive,  though  it  is  capable  of  being  burned 
unconfined,  in  an  ordinary  flame,  without  caus- 
ing an  explosion.  Gun  cotton  is  exploded  by 
percussion,  or  detonation,  by  means  of  the  ex- 
plosion of  other  suitable  explosives  in  contact 
with  it. 

Other  high  explosives  used  in  naval  warfare 
are  nitre-glycerine,  from  which  dynamite  is 

187 


188         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

made,  picric  acid,  the  various  picrates  includ- 
ing emmensite,  lyddite,  dunnite,  etc. 

Wet  gun  cotton  explodes  much  less  readily 
than  the  dry  product.  For  that  reason  it  is 
used  for  charges  for  torpedoes  and  mines  where 
danger  would  arise  from  carrying  and  storing 
large  quantities  of  dry  gun  cotton.  The  deto- 
nating charge,  however,  is  made  of  dry  gun 
cotton. 

MINES 

Submarine  mines  are  a  large  factor  in  naval 
warfare.  They  may  be  defined  briefly  as  con- 
sisting of  a  charge  of  explosive  confined  in  a 
strong  case,  generally  moored  in  rivers,  chan- 
nels, and  outer  roadsteads,  and  arranged  to  be 
fired  in  proximity  to  a  hostile  vessel.  The  sev- 
eral classes  of  mines  may  be  divided  into  con- 
tact mines,  which  are  exploded  by  actual  phys- 
ical contact  with  the  vessel,  and  observation 
mines,  which  are  exploded  by  electric  impulse 
from  the  shore  when  it  has  been  ascertained  by 
observation  that  the  hostile  ship  is  in  range. 


The  explosion,  eight  feet  under  water,  of  a  naval  defense  mine 
containing  161  Ibs.  of  wet  gun  cotton 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  189 

Floating  contact  mines  were  used  in  the  war 
between  Russia  and  Japan,  but,  as  they  are 
dangerous  to  friend  and  foe  alike,  their  use  is 
discouraged  and  their  discontinuance  may  be- 
come a  subject  of  international  agreement. 


>f*f 


FLOATING  ELECTRIC  CONTACT  MINK 

A.  Mine  case  with  explosive  charge. 

B.  Mooring  apparatus. 

C.  Mooring  line. 

D.  Battery  box  furnishing  current  to  cause  explo- 

sion when  mine  case  comes  in  contact  with  a 
ship. 

E.  Anchor. 

United  States  naval  vessels  are  provided  with 
outfits  of  so-called  naval  defense  mines,  which 
can  be  fired  either  as  contact  or  observation 
mines.  They  are  fitted  with  anchors  and  are  ar- 
ranged so  that  they  will  be  maintained,  in  a 


190         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

fixed  locality,  at  a  uniform  depth  below  the 
surface  of  the  water  in  spite  of  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  tide.  Naval  defense  mines  are  fired  elec- 
trically; when  used  as  contact  mines  the  circuit 
is  closed  by  the  movement  of  the  mine  caused 
by  a  passing  vessel.  When  used  as  observation 
mines  the  firing  key  is  located  ashore  in  a  con- 
venient spot  for  the  observer. 

Each  mine  has  a  charge  of  over  one  hundred 
pounds  of  gun  cotton,  which  is  sufficient  to  dam- 
age seriously  any  vessel  with  which  it  is  in  con- 
tact when  exploded. 

Naval  vessels  are  fitted,  also,  with  outfits  for 
countermining,  that  is,  for  exploding  and  de- 
stroying an  enemy's  mine  field,  as  might  prove 
necessary  in  case  of  the  capture  of  a  harbor  that 
had  been  mined  by  the  enemy.  These  counter- 
mines contain  very  heavy  charges  of  gun  cotton, 
some  as  much  as  500  pounds.  They  are  run  in 
lines  across  the  mine  field,  and  then  exploded 
simultaneously  in  order  to  destroy  the  connec- 
tions and  cause  the  defending  mines  to  explode 
by  shock.  Mine  fields  for  the  protection  of  har- 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  191 

bors,  etc.,  in  the  United  States  are  put  in  place 
by  the  Coast  Artillery  Corps  of  the  Army  in 
connection  with  their  work  of  coast  defense. 
The  space  occupied  by  any  system  of  mines  is 
called  the  mine  field,  and  its  arrangement  re- 
quires special  study  of  conditions  of  the  bot- 
tom, the  channel,  tides,  etc.  The  mine  field 
should  be  protected  by  the  fire  of  small  guns,  to 
prevent  countermining  operations,  and  by  elec- 
tric searchlights,  to  guard  against  night  attacks. 
The  mines  are  arranged  in  groups  so  that  a 
ship  entering  will  pass  surely  within  striking 
distance  of  one  or  more  of  the  groups.  Some- 
times a  special  channel  across  a  mine  field,  kept 
clear  of  mines,  is  designated  for  the  use  of 
friendly  vessels.  The  protection  afforded  by 
an  efficient  mine  field  is  regarded  as  being  ab- 
solute, and  no  hostile  vessel  would  consider  en- 
tering a  port  known  to  be  so  protected. 

TORPEDOES 

The  first  type  of  torpedo  used  was  the  spar 
torpedo,  which  was  fixed  on  the  end  of  a  spar 


192         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

in  the  bow  of  a  small  boat,  and  exploded  upon 
impact  against  the  side  of  the  ship,  the  danger 
to  the  crew  of  the  boat  being  practically  as  great 
as  to  the  vessel  attacked.  This  suggested  the 
idea  of  the  floating  torpedo,  propelled  by  clock- 
work, that  has  developed  into  the  modern  auto- 
mobile torpedoes,  the  most  common  types  of 
which  are  the  Bliss-Leavitt  (American)  and 
Whitehead  (English).  These  torpedoes  are 
propelled  by  engines  driven  by  compressed  air, 
have  arrangements  whereby  they  are  auto- 
matically maintained  at  a  fixed  depth,  and 
steered  at  the  target  toward  which  they  have 
been  aimed.  The  torpedo  is  so  complicated  a 
machine  that  a  detailed  description  of  all  of  its 
operations  is  impossible  in  this  book's  limited 
space,  but  a  brief  description  will  be  given,  as 
this  phase  of  naval  warfare,  about  which  com- 
paratively little  is  known  generally,  is  one  that 
appeals  to  the  public. 

The  most  modern  form  of  torpedo  used  in 
the  United  States  Navy  is  a  modification  of  the 
Whitehead,  known  as  the  Bliss-Leavitt  5-meter, 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  193 

21-inch  torpedo.  It  is  over  16  feet  long,  weighs 
about  a  ton,  carries  nearly  200  pounds  of  gun 
cotton,  and  has  an  average  speed  of  about  26 
knots,  with  an  effective  range  of  over  4,000 
yards.  It  is  propelled  by  turbine  engines 
driven  by  compressed  air,  carried  in  the  body 
of  the  torpedo  at  a  pressure  of  over  2,000 
pounds  to  the  square  inch;  the  weight  of  this 
compressed  air  alone  is  over  200  pounds.  The 
Bliss-Leavitt  consists  of  three  main  parts  as  in- 
dicated in  the  illustration,  the  head  A,  the  air 
flask  B,  to  which  is  attached  the  immersion 
chamber  C,  and  the  afterbody  D.  This  latter 
carries  the  operating  mechanism,  including  the 
turbine  engines  and  the  propellers;  the  depth 
regulator,  which  controls  the  horizontal  rudders 
that  keep  the  torpedo  at  a  fixed  distance  from 
the  surface ;  the  gyroscopic  gear,  which  controls 
the  vertical  rudders  and  keeps  the  torpedo 
pointed  at  the  target,  and  a  number  of  other 
mechanisms  that  are  necessary  to  the  operation 
of  the  torpedo. 
There  are  two  interchangeable  heads  supplied 


194 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 


with  each  torpedo,  the  war  head,  which  is 
charged  with  gun  cotton,  and  the  exercise  head, 
which  is  ballasted  with  water.  The  war  head  is 
used  only  when  the  torpedo  is  to  be  fired 
against  an  enemy,  as,  for  obvious  reasons,  its 
handling  for  ordinary  drills  would  be  danger- 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  TORPEDO 

A.  Head. 

B.  Air  flask 

C.  Shaft  compartment. 

D.  Afterbody. 

E.  Tail  and  propellers. 

F.  War  nose. 

ous.  The  war  head  is  fitted  with  a  war  nose, 
which  is  screwed  in  its  end  and  is  intended  to 
explode  the  gun  cotton  upon  impact  upon  a 
ship's  side. 

Torpedoes  are  fired  from  torpedo  tubes  by 
means  of  a  small  charge  of  gunpowder  or  by 
compressed  air.  In  the  case  of  modern  armored 
vessels,  the  torpedo  tubes  are  under  the  water ; 
in  torpedo  craft  the  tubes  are  placed  on  their 
decks.  Formerly  battleships  and  armored 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  195 

cruisers  carried  torpedo  tubes  above  the  water, 
but  these  were  abandoned  on  account  of  the 
danger  through  premature  explosion  of  a  tor- 
pedo by  an  enemy's  shot.  As  soon  as  the  tor- 
pedo reaches  the  water  the  propelling  engines 
start,  the  gyroscopic  steering  gear  points  it  for 
the  target,  and  when  it  attains  its  speed  and 
proper  depth  below  the  surface  of  the  water 
nothing  indicates  its  whereabouts  but  a  small 
ripple  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  the 
escaping  air  bubbles.  When  torpedoes  are  fired 
for  exercise  they  must  be  recovered,  and,  for  the 
purpose  of  indicating  their  location  when  spent, 
the  exercise  head  is  fitted  with  a  small  can  of 
calcium  phosphide,  which  is  ignited  by  the 
water,  giving  smoke  and  flame. 

Formerly  torpedoes  were  driven  by  a  com- 
pact little  engine  of  the  reciprocating  "  Broth- 
erhood "  balanced  type.  This,  though  small 
enough  to  be  placed  in  a  good-sized  cheese  box, 
was  capable  of  developing  as  much  as  60  horse- 
power. The  turbine  type  engine  has  sup- 
planted the  "  Brotherhood  "  for  torpedoes,  and 


196         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

has  added  greatly  to  the  speed  and  range  of 
the  torpedo,  by  using  the  air  more  economically 
and  by  reducing  friction  of  moving  parts.  The 
gyroscope  makes  it  possible  to  discharge  a  tor- 
pedo in  a  direction  at  an  angle  up  to  120  de- 
grees from  its  target,  and  have  it  turn  gradu- 
ally round  through  that  arc  to  point  for  the 
objective.  It  is  possible  in  this  way  for  a  tor- 
pedo boat  to  discharge  all  her  torpedoes  simul- 
taneously when  the  boat  itself  is  steering  head 
on  for  the  hostile  ship,  and  so  to  lessen  the 
target  offered  to  its  gun  fire. 

Another  device  that  has  increased  greatly  the 
efficiency  of  torpedoes  is  the  arrangement  for 
heating  the  compressed  air  by  means  of  an  al- 
cohol flame.  In  this  way  the  speed  has  been  in- 
creased by  from  8  to  10  knots,  with  a  corre- 
sponding increase  in  range. 

TORPEDO  PROTECTION 

Foreign  ships  usually  are  provided  with  tor- 
pedo nets,  which  are  intended  to  stop  a  torpedo 
before  it  comes  into  contact  with  the  ship. 


o, 
2 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  197 

These  nets  are  of  steel,  and  are  carried  on  booms 
about  20  feet  long,  arranged  along  the  ship's 
side.  They  could  not  be  used  when  the  ship 
was  under  way,  and  their  disadvantages  have 
been  regarded  as  being  so  great  that  they  never 
have  been  adopted  in  the  United  States  Navy. 
The  danger  to  a  modern  battleship  from  tor- 
pedo attack  under  ordinary  conditions  is  re- 
garded by  many  as  not  being  serious,  as  by  the 
use  of  searchlights  and  because  of  the  large 
number  of  rapid-fire  guns  in  the  torpedo  de- 
fense battery,  the  chance  is  not  very  great  of 
a  torpedo  craft  being  able  to  approach  suffi- 
ciently near  to  fire  a  torpedo  with  effect.  Even 
if  the  torpedo  strikes  and  explodes  in  contact 
with  the  ship,  there  is  a  strong  probability  that 
the  damage  would  not  be  sufficient  to  disable 
the  ship  more  than  temporarily,  as  protection 
against  torpedoes  and  mines  is  afforded  by  hav- 
ing the  water-tight  subdivisions  of  a  ship  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  damage  from  the  explosion  of 
a  torpedo  would  be  confined  to  comparatively 
small  compartments. 


198         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 
AIRSHIPS  AND  AEROPLANES 

Serious  consideration  is  being  given  by  the 
United  States,  as  well  as  by  other  naval  powers, 
to  the  use,  in  naval  warfare,  of  airships  and 
aeroplanes.  The  possibilities  are  great,  and 
though,  up  to  present  time,  little  has  been 
done  to  develop  them,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
each  step  in  improving  the  reliability  of  air 
craft  renders  their  use  for  naval  purposes  more 
promising.  Their  importance  in  this  connec- 
tion must  not  be  exaggerated,  however,  as,  like 
the  submarines,  they  are  at  the  best  uncertain, 
easily  destroyed  if  discovered  when  nearby,  and 
incapable  of  great  offensive  action.  Their  use 
for  scouting  purposes  would  be  great,  and  there 
is  not  much  doubt  that  in  the  near  future  scout 
cruisers  will  be  equipped  with  aeroplanes  to 
aid  them  in  their  scouting  duties. 

That  an  airship  or  an  aeroplane  could  de- 
stroy a  battleship  by  dropping  on  it  high  ex- 
plosives is  hardly  possible.  It  would  be  dif- 
ficult in  the  first  place  for  an  aviator  going  at 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  199 

high  speed,  as  he  must  if  he  hopes  to  avoid  be- 
ing struck  by  rifle  fire  from  the  enemy,  to  hit 
the  deck  of  the  ship  with  any  explosive  which  he 
might  drop.  Even  were  he  to  succeed  in  land- 
ing one  or  more  charges  of  explosives  on  the 
deck  of  a  battleship,  it  is  probable  that  the 
damage  resulting  would  be  only  local,  and  would 
not  affect  the  vessel  seriously. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  by  trial  that  an 
aeroplane  can  rise  from  an  especially  con- 
structed platform  on  the  deck  of  a  ship,  and, 
after  making  a  flight,  can  alight  in  the  same 
place.  Thus,  it  becomes  comparatively  a  sim- 
ple matter  and  one  of  skill  in  handling  and  of 
reliability  of  the  aeroplanes,  to  use  them  for 
scouting  from  a  ship,  wherever  it  may  be. 

In  order  for  an  aeroplane  to  be  of  the  great- 
est possible  usefulness,  and  to  render  it  inde- 
pendent of  its  ship  in  case  it  is  forced  to 
descend,  it  should  be  able,  however,  to  alight 
and  rise  from  the  surface  of  the  water.  This, 
too,  has  been  shown  to  be  possible,  by  the  use  of 
the  so-called  hydroplane  attachment,  which  per- 


200         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

mits  the  aeroplane  to  float  on  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and,  when  the  propeller  is  started,  to 
arise  into  the  air.  Similarly,  when  its  flight  is 
finished,  it  can  alight  on  the  surface  of  the 
water  and  remain  there  until  picked  up  by  its 
ship,  and  hoisted  aboard  in  the  same  manner 
as  a  boat.  Even  if  in  alighting  on  the  water  the 
aeroplane  could  not  be  recovered,  the  aviator 
could  be  brought  on  board  and  deliver  his  in- 
formation. The  ship  could  carry  easily  other 
aeroplanes. 

It  has  been  proposed  also  to  utilize  aeroplanes 
for  spotting  the  fall  of  shots  fired  at  long  range. 
As  has  been  seen,  especially  designed  towers  of 
considerable  height  are  constructed  on  battle- 
ships as  stations  for  the  spotters,  to  permit 
them  to  see  the  fall  of  shots  and  to  correct  the 
range  in  case  the  fall  of  the  shots  is  short  or 
over.  An  observer  in  an  aeroplane,  being  at 
greater  height,  would  be  able  to  make  these  ob- 
servations to  better  advantage  and  signal  them 
to  the  ship.  It  is  likely  that  aeroplanes  will  be 
found  to  be  of  great  usefulness  for  such  work. 


HIGH  EXPLOSIVES  201 

Photographs  can  be  taken  readily  from  aero- 
planes in  flight,  and  wireless  telegraph  messages 
can  be  sent  and  received. 

It  is  probable  that  rifle  and  small  caliber  auto- 
matic gun  fire  will  be  relied  upon  chiefly  for 
defense  against  aeroplanes,  although  large  guns 
of  a  type  for  firing  vertically  into  the  air  have 
been  developed.  A  moving  aeroplane  presents 
a  difficult  target,  as  there  is  no  means  of  cor- 
recting the  range,  as  is  done  ordinarily  by  ob- 
serving on  the  surface  of  the  water  the  fall  of 
the  shot.  For  that  reason,  in  order  to  attack  an 
aeroplane  successfully,  a  large  volume  of  fire 
will  be  necessary,  and  this  can  be  obtained  most 
readily  by  means  of  a  number  of  riflemen. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DESIGNING  AND  BUILDING  A  WARSHIP; 
DRY  DOCKS 

NEAKLY  all  naval  vessels  of  this  country  are 
built  by  private  shipbuilding  concerns  under 
contract  with  the  Navy  Department.  In  former 
years,  a  number  of  the  old  wooden  ships  were 
built  in  the  various  navy  yards,  and,  of  recent 
years,  several  battleships  have  been  so  built. 
The  San  Marcos,  formerly  the  Texas,  was  built 
at  the  Navy  Yard,  Norfolk.  The  original 
Maine,  which  was  blown  up  in  Havana  Harbor, 
and  the  Connecticut,  were  built  at  the  Navy 
Yard,  New  York,  which  yard  is  now  engaged  on 
the  battleship  Florida,  which  is  nearly  com- 
pleted, and  the  New  York,  which  has  been  com- 
menced only  a  short  time. 

When  Congress  passes  a  law  authorizing  new 
ships  for  the  Navy,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  take  the  necessary 

202 


^ 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  203 

steps  looking  to  the  construction  of  these  ships. 
The  characteristics  of  the  ships  are  fixed  in  a 
general  way  by  the  act  authorizing  them ;  it  re- 
mains for  the  Navy  Department  to  determine  in 
full  the  details,  such  as  the  exact  displacement, 
speed,  armament,  type  of  engines,  arrangement, 
etc.  The  design  is  prepared  in  the  Bureau  of 
Construction  and  Repair  under  the  general  in- 
structions, as  to  military  characteristics,  of  the 
General  Board,  which  is  charged  by  the  Navy 
Regulations  with  this  duty. 

In  order  to  determine  the  proper  form  of  the 
under-water  body  of  the  ship,  so  that  it  may 
offer  the  least  resistance  to  propulsion  through 
the  water,  and,  also,  to  ascertain  the  power 
necessary  to  drive  a  ship  of  a  given  form,  re- 
course is  had  to  the  Naval  Experimental  Model 
Basin  at  Washington.  A  model  20  feet  in 
length  is  constructed  of  wood  to  the  exact  form 
which  is  proposed,  and  this  is  ballasted  to  float 
at  the  same  relative  depth  as  will  the  ship.  The 
model  is  then  towed  in  the  basin,  which  is  470 
feet  long,  by  means  of  an  electrically  driven 


204         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

carriage,  which  travels  from  one  end  of  the 
basin  to  the  other.  The  speed  of  the  carriage 
and  the  force  that  must  be  exerted  to  tow  the 
model  are  registered  carefully  and,  by  suitable 
calculations  from  them  is  determined  the  power 
of  the  engines  that  will  be  required  to  drive  the 
ship  at  the  proper  speed.  Such  experiments,  of 
course,  have  been  preceded  by  a  number  of  trials 
of  models  of  various  shapes,  to  determine  the 
most  efficient  form  of  under-water  body.  The 
improvement  in  speed  brought  about  in  the 
ships  that  have  been  designed  since  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Model  Basin  has  been  very 
marked.  No  design  of  a  new  ship  to  be  added 
to  the  Navy  is  adopted  until  a  model  represent- 
ing it  has  been  run  at  various  speeds  and  drafts 
in  the  Model  Basin,  and  it  is  therefore  possible 
to  predict  with  accuracy  the  speed  that  a  new 
ship  will  attain. 

Having  determined  the  under-water  body  of 
the  new  ship,  the  next  step  is  to  dispose  the 
guns,  armor,  ammunition,  coal,  machinery, 
stores,  etc.,  so  as  to  have  the  completed  ship 


Hoisting  a  12-inch  gun  on  board  the  Louisiana 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  205 

float  at  the  proper  draft  and  at  the  same  time 
insure  the  co-ordination  of  all  the  elements  that 
go  to  make  up  an  efficient  battleship.  The  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  structure  must  be  designed  so 
as  to  offer  proper  resistance  to  the  enormous 
forces  that  act  in  a  ship  afloat  and  poised  on 
waves.  In  addition  to  the  calculations  that  are 
made  in  this  connection,  assurance  must  be  had 
that  the  ship  will  be  stable  under  all  conditions, 
even  when  water  enters  through  breaches  in  the 
hull  that  may  be  caused  by  collision,  torpedo 
explosion,  or  projectiles. 

The  preparation  of  the  complete  plans  and 
specifications  for  a  large  battleship  is  a  diffi- 
cult task,  and  requires  the  work  of  a  number 
of  men  for  several  months.  When  they  have 
been  completed  in  sufficient  detail  to  inform  bid- 
ders exactly  what  is  required,  and  to  permit  the 
construction  of  the  ship,  bids  are  invited  from 
various  shipbuilders  for  the  contracts  to  build 
the  ship.  The  lowest  bidder  making  a  satis- 
factory offer  and  having  the  necessary  facilities 
for  building  a  ship  is  awarded  the  contract,  the 


206         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

decision  being  made  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy. 

In  order  to  insure  that  ships  under  contract 
shall  be  constructed  in  accordance  with  the 
plans  and  specifications,  naval  officers  are  de- 
tailed as  inspectors  at  the  various  shipyards 
doing  work  for  the  government,  as  well  as  at  the 
steel  mills,  armor  mills,  gun  factories,  etc.,  to 
inspect  the  materials  used  and  the  manner  of 
carrying  out  the  work.  The  inspectors  at  the 
shipyards  also  are  required  to  pass  on  all  de- 
tail plans  prepared  by  the  builders.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  that  the  contract  plans  repre- 
sent all  the  plans  necessary  to  build  the  ship; 
there  are  many  thousands  of  others  which  show 
details  of  the  ship  even  to  the  locations  of  bolts 
and  rivets. 

Owing  to  the  amount  of  money  involved,  and 
the  time  required  in  the  construction  of  a  battle- 
ship, it  would  be  very  difficult  for  any  builder  to 
complete  a  ship  before  receiving  any  payment 
thereon.  For  this  reason  installments  are  paid 
from  time  to  time  as  the  work  progresses. 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  207 

When  the  builders  have  prepared  the  building 
slip  on  which  the  new  ship  is  to  be  laid  down, 
and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  material  has  been 
assembled  to  insure  rapid  progress  in  the  work, 
the  keel  is  laid.  This,  which  now  is  a  much 
simpler  ceremony  than  formerly  was  the  case 
with  wooden  vessels,  consists  of  laying  the  flat 
keel  plate  on  the  line  of  blocks  which  are  placed 
along  the  middle  of  the  building-slip  for  that 
purpose.  The  keel  of  a  ship  is  similar  to  a 
human  backbone,  as  to  it,  on  each  side,  are  at- 
tached the  frames  or  ribs  of  the  ship.  These 
frames  are  like  girders,  and  to  their  outer  and 
inner  sides  are  attached  the  outer  skin  and  inner 
bottom  of  the  ship,  the  space  between  the  two 
being  the  so-called  double  bottom,  which  is  in- 
tended to  act  as  a  protection  in  case  the  outer 
skin  of  the  ship  is  pierced  in  any  manner. 

Work  on  all  parts  of  the  ship  progresses 
simultaneously  and  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
building  slip  usually  is  served  by  a  great  over- 
head traveling  derrick,  of  the  cantilever  type, 
which  has  arms  extending  on  each  side  to  serve 


208         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

two  slips.  When  the  ship  has  progressed  to  a 
certain  stage,  and  the  weight  has  reached  about 
10,000  tons  for  the  largest  ships,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  launch  it.  It  is  desirable  to  delay 
launching  as  long  as  possible,  as  the  facilities 
for  carrying  on  work  and  handling  materials 
usually  are  much  better  at  the  slip  than  when 
the  ship  is  afloat. 

Launching  is  effected  on  two  slides  or  launch- 
ing ways,  which  are  built  under  the  ship,  at  a 
distance  apart  equal  to  about  one-third  the  beam 
of  the  ship,  and  securely  fastened  to  the  ground. 
Sliding  ways  are  secured  to  the  vessel,  the  sur- 
faces between  them  and  the  launching  ways  are 
coated  with  special  lubricating  grease,  and 
wedges  are  arranged  to  be  driven  in  so  as  to 
lift  the  ship  clear  of  all  supports  except  the 
ways.  Premature  launching  is  prevented  by 
having  the  upper  ends  of  the  sliding  and  ground 
ways  bolted  and  lashed  together.  When  all  is 
ready  for  the  launching,  the  sliding  ways  are 
sawed  through  beyond  the  point  where  they  are 
fastened,  and  the  shig  slides  into  the  water, 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  209 

after  having  been  christened  by  having  a  bottle 
of  champagne  broken  over  its  bows  by  the 
young  lady  who  has  been  selected  as  sponsor. 
Frequently  accidents  happen  in  launching  ships, 
as  in  the  case  of  an  Italian  merchant  ship,  that 
recently  turned  over  when  launched,  and  be- 
came a  total  loss.  Great  care  is  necessary  in 
the  launching  preparations,  and  detailed  cal- 
culations must  be  made  to  insure  that  all  will 
be  as  planned. 

In  order  to  make  certain  that  the  contract  re- 
quirements as  regards  speed,  coal  endurance, 
etc.,  are  complied  with,  the  contractors  are  re- 
quired to  conduct  a  speed  trial  of  a  vessel  be- 
fore delivery  to  the  Government.  A  board  of 
officers  is  appointed  to  supervise  the  trials,  and 
to  ascertain  whether  the  terms  of  the  contract 
have  been  fulfilled,  the  required  speed  attained, 
and  other  requirements  met.  To  determine  the 
speed  of  a  ship,  it  is  run  first  over  a  measured 
course  one  mile  in  length,  which  must  be  located 
in  a  sheltered  harbor,  where  beacons  and  range 
poles  on  shore  will  be  visible  from  the  ship.  It 


210         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

is  also  essential  that  the  depth  of  water  be 
considered,  as  shallow  water  retards  the  vessel. 
The  harbor  of  Rockland,  Me.,  usually  is  selected 
for  these  preliminary  runs  on  account  of  the 
depth  of  water.  Some  recent  vessels  have  been 
run,  however,  off  the  Delaware  Breakwater. 

A  vessel  on  trial  is  run  over  the  measured 
mile  course  in  opposite  directions,  and  at  suc- 
cessive speeds;  meanwhile  observations  are 
made  of  the  time  necessary  to  pass  over  the 
course,  and  the  number  of  revolutions  of  the 
propellers.  From  the  data  so  obtained  a  curve 
is  constructed  which  shows  the  speed  of  the 
vessel  at  a  given  displacement,  for  any  given 
number  of  revolutions  of  the  propellers.  The 
ship  is  run  out  to  sea  for  the  period  during 
which  it  is  required  that  full  speed  shall  be 
made,  usually  eight  hours,  and,  by  determining 
the  total  number  of  revolutions  of  the  pro- 
pellers, the  speed  of  the  ship  is  found.  After 
the  full  speed  run,  the  endurance  runs  take 
place ;  these  are  at  reduced  speed,  and  last  usu- 
ally twenty-four  hours  each.  The  endurance 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  211 

runs  are  intended  to  show  that  the  coal  capacity 
and  the  arrangements  for  handling  it  are  ade- 
quate, and  also  the  efficiency  of  the  boilers  and 
engines  at  reduced  speeds. 

The  speed  trials  are  very  important  to  the 
builders,  for  heavy  money  penalties  are  pro- 
vided in  the  contract  for  failure  of  the  vessel  to 
attain  the  required  speed,  or  changes  and  im- 
provements may  be  called  for,  which  would  add 
to  the  cost  of  building  the  ship. 

Formerly  in  the  contracts  for  naval  vessels, 
money  bonuses  were  offered  for  speed  in  excess 
of  requirements,  but  this  practice  was  discon- 
tinued a  number  of  years  ago,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  as  a  spur  to  the  builders,  there  are 
only  penalties  for  failure  to  meet  the  speed. 

Ships  return  to  the  builder's  yard,  after  a 
successful  trial  trip,  with  all  hands  much  elated ; 
brooms  are  hoisted  on  the  mastheads,  and  the 
speed  is  painted  on  the  superstructure.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  the  speed  trial  is  a  failure,  the 
crowd  on  board  the  ship  is  a  very  unhappy 
one. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

Upon  completion  of  the  ship  in  all  details,  de- 
livery is  effected  to  the  Government,  usually  at 
the  nearest  navy  yard.  Formerly  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  send  the  crew  on  board  at  the  build- 
er's yard  to  accept  delivery  and  commission  the 
ship.  The  builders  are  held  responsible  for  any 
defects,  arising  during  six  months  after  deliv- 
ery, which  may  be  due  to  defective  material  or 
workmanship.  To  secure  this  responsibility 
final  payment  is  not  made  until  the  end  of  this 
six  months'  period,  when,  if  there  are  no  de- 
fects, final  payments  are  completed  and  the  con- 
tract declared  to  be  satisfied,  and  closed. 

DRY  DOCKS 

All  ships  require  to  have  their  bottoms  exam- 
ined and  repaired  periodically;  wooden  ships 
less  often  than  steel  ships,  for  the  reason  that 
their  bottoms  are  sheathed  with  thin  plates  of 
copper,  which  protect  the  wood  from  the  attack 
of  the  borers  or  teredo  worms,  and  marine 
growths,  such  as  barnacles,  grass,  etc.,  are  pre- 
vented by  poisonous  action  of  the  copper  from 


The  battleship  Oregon  in  the  Puget  Sound  graving  dry  dock 


The  battleship  Illinois  in  the  New  Orleans  floating  dry  dock 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP 

attaching  themselves.  Before  the  discovery  of 
copper  sheathing,  the  loss  of  ships  was  not  in- 
frequent through  the  destruction  of  their  bot- 
toms by  the  borers.  Sea  water  acts  on  the  bot- 
toms of  steel  ships,  causing  rapid  corrosion, 
and  barnacles  and  marine  growths  attach  them- 
selves readily  to  the  steel,  offering  considerable 
resistance  to  the  motion  of  the  ship.  For  these 
reasons  it  is  necessary  periodically  to  clean  and 
paint  the  bottoms  of  steel  ships. 

To  the  bottoms  of  steel  ships  paint  of  a  spe- 
cial character  is  applied.  This  is  designed  to 
prevent  corrosion  and  the  attachment  of 
growths,  or  fouling,  as  it  is  called.  This  latter 
result  is  obtained  usually  by  mixing  in  the 
paint  a  poisonous  ingredient.  It  is  not  possible 
to  use  on  steel  ships  the  copper  sheathing,  owing 
to  the  galvanic  action  which  takes  place  between 
copper  and  steel  in  sea  water,  causing  very 
rapid  eating  away  of  the  steel. 

For  the  purpose  of  examining,  cleaning,  paint- 
ing, and  repairing  the  under-water  bodies  of 
ships,  dry  docks  are  provided.  Each  navy  yard 


THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

has  one  or  more,  some  of  the  larger  yards 
having  three  or  four  of  different  sizes.  Most  of 
these  dry  docks  are  graving  docks,  which  con- 
sist essentially  of  a  basin  into  which  the  ship  is 
floated.  The  entrance  then  is  closed  by  a 
caisson  or  gate,  which  can  be  floated  in  its  place 
and  then  sunk  by  admitting  water.  When  the 
entrance  to  the  dock  has  been  closed  effectively 
by  the  caisson,  the  water  in  the  dock  is  pumped 
out  by  means  of  large  electrically  driven  centrif- 
ugal pumps,  which  empty  a  dock  of  ordinary 
size  in  from  two  to  three  hours.  This  leaves 
the  ship  resting  on  the  bottom  of  the  dock,  on 
blocks  which  have  been  especially  arranged  and 
placed  to  fit  the  irregularities  of  the  ship 's  bot- 
tom, and  held  upright  by  shores  or  spars  sup- 
ported from  the  side  of  the  docks.  After  the 
completion  of  work  on  the  bottom  of  the  ship, 
when  it  is  desired  to  refloat  her,  water  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  dock  through  special  openings. 
When  the  water  in  the  dock  is  the  same  level  as 
that  outside,  the  caisson  is  floated  by  pumping 
out  the  water  in  it,  and  it  is  towed  out  of  the 


BUILDING  A  WARSHIP  215 

way.    The  ship  then  can  be  hauled  out  of  the 
dock  by  a  tug. 

Floating  dry  docks,  of  which  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  world  is  the  Dewey,  at  the  Olongapo 
Naval  Station,  are  large  floating  steel  structures 
so  arranged  as  to  be  capable  of  lifting  ships 
bodily  from  the  water.  Floating  docks  are 
much  cheaper  than  graving  docks  as  regards 
first  cost,  but  the  bottom  of  a  steel  dock  cor- 
rodes in  the  same  way  as  that  of  a  ship,  and  its 
lifetime  is  limited,  while  a  graving  dock  is  prac- 
tically indestructible.  When  it  is  desired  to 
dock  a  vessel,  the  floating  dock  is  sunk  by  ad- 
mitting water  to  it,  and  the  ship  is  floated  over 
it.  When  the  ship  is  in  the  proper  place  over 
the  dock,  the  water  is  pumped  out,  and  it  rises, 
lifting  the  ship  with  it.  When  it  is  desired  to 
refloat  the  ship,  the  dock  is  sunk  again  by  ad- 
mitting water,  and  the  ship  hauled  off.  There 
are  side  walls  to  the  dock  which  remain  partly 
above  water.  In  these  are  located  the  pumping 
machinery,  and  on  them  the  docking  gangs  work. 
In  order  to  permit  of  cleaning  and  painting  the 


216         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

bottom  of  a  steel  dock,  which  is  essential  to  pre- 
vent corrosion,  so  far  as  is  possible,  it  must  be 
arranged  for  self-docking,  that  is,  the  various 
sections,  when  loosened,  can  lift  each  other  out 
of  the  water.  The  Dewey  is  in  three  sections, 
of  which  the  two  small  end  sections  lift  the  large 
central  section,  and  are  themselves  lifted  by  it. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  NATIONAL  DEFENSE 

A  NATION'S  surest  guarantee  of  peace  is  to  be 
prepared  for  war.  If  at  all  times  ready  to 
wage  war  successfully,  its  chances  of  becoming 
entangled  are  infinitesimal;  in  order  to  secure 
such  a  guarantee  an  efficient  fighting  Navy  is 
essential.  A  country  which  has  over-sea  pos- 
sessions is  absolutely  dependent  on  its  Navy  for 
their  retention  in  time  of  war.  No  army,  how- 
ever powerful,  can  operate  far  away  from  its 
home  base  without  communications,  and  these 
its  Navy  must  be  depended  upon  to  maintain. 
Had  the  Japanese  Navy  not  vanquished  the 
Russian  Navy,  Japan  could  not  have  maintained 
an  army  in  Manchuria,  nor  could  she  have  re- 
sisted in  turn  invasion  by  the  Eussian  armies. 
The  British  Empire  owes  its  integrity  to  the 
Navy;  repeatedly,  when  its  very  existence  has 

217 


218         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

been  threatened,  the  English  nation  has  been 
saved  by  its  naval  forces.  Had  Napoleon  been 
able  to  obtain  control  of  the  sea  long  enough 
to  realize  his  dream  of  invading  England,  his 
Empire  could  not  have  been  destroyed.  For 
this  reason  the  English  people  as  a  whole  regard 
their  Navy  as  the  nation's  bulwark.  The 
United  States  is  in  much  the  same  position  as 
England,  as  regarding  its  dependencies,  which 
are  far  distant  and  largely  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Unless  there  were  a  sufficient  naval  force  to  pre- 
vent a  hostile  fleet  from  operating,  the  Philip- 
pines and  Hawaii  could  not  be  retained.  The 
Army,  without  the  Navy  to  maintain  a  line  of 
communication,  would  not  be  able  to  hold  them, 
no  matter  how  strong  were  the  fortifications. 

The  problem  of  an  invasion  of  the  United 
States  by  sea  has  been  worked  out  in  the  war 
offices  of  every  other  great  armed  nation,  but, 
with  the  addition  of  each  new  squadron  to  the 
Navy,  the  solution  becomes  more  difficult,  and 
if  the  United  States  continues  to  build  ships 
according  to  its  means,  in  the  near  future  its 


THE  NATIONAL  DEFENSE  219 

invasion  by  sea  would  be  regarded  as  impos- 
sible. The  United  States,  for  peace  and  im- 
munity from  war,  well  can  afford  to  pay  so 
cheap  an  insurance  as  is  involved  by  the  cost 
of  the  Navy.  Therefore,  every  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  whether  of  the  East  or  the  West, 
of  the  sea-coast  States  or  of  inland  States,  has 
an  equal  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  a  large 
and  efficient  Navy,  as  through  it  alone  the  safety 
of  the  nation  and  the  integrity  of  its  depend- 
encies can  be  assured. 

The  function  of  the  Navy  is  not  directly  to 
protect  the  coast  and  the  seaports.  There  are 
coast  defenses  and  fortifications  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  Navy  must  gain  control  of  the  sea, 
and,  to  do  this,  must  be  foot-loose  to  search  out 
and  destroy  the  enemy's  fleet  and  so  indirectly 
to  protect  the  coasts ;  to  guarantee  the  country 
against  invasion,  and  to  enable  the  land  forces 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country.  For 
these  reasons  the  Navy  must  be  not  only  power- 
ful, but  it  must  be  a  cruising  navy,  and  a  fighting 
navy;  the  ships  must  be  able  to  keep  the  sea  in 


220         THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 

all  weather;  they  must  be  capable  of  cruising 
long  distances,  and  the  gun  crews  must  be  well 
drilled  and  trained  to  make  the  greatest  possible 
number  of  hits  per  minute. 

While  the  national  defense  is  of  first  im- 
portance, the  duties  of  the  country  abroad 
should  not  be  lost  sight  of.  Without  an  ef- 
fective Navy  to  back  it  up,  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
would  become  a  dead  letter.  Our  interest  in 
world  affairs  and  influence  in  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity would  not  avail  anything  without  the 
power  to  make  good  our  contentions. 


THE   END 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Adams,  140. 

Admiral  of  the  Navy,  flag, 
93 ;  grade  ceases,  38 ;  duties, 
56. 

Aeroplanes,  198. 

Agamemnon,  18. 

Aid  for  Inspections,  Material, 
Operations,  Personnel,  29. 

Airships,  198. 

Alabama,  126. 

Albany,  136. 

Alert,   140. 

"  All  -  big  -  gun  "  battleship, 
152. 

Allotments,  98. 

Alvarado,   139. 

Ammunition,  179. 

Amphitrite,  133. 

Annapolis,   138. 

Antarctic  expeditions,   16. 

Arkansas,  129. 

Armor,  159;  barbette,  157; 
belt,  157,  161 ;  casemate, 
162;  Harveyized,  160; 
Krupp,  160;  protection, 
161;  side,  157;  turret,  157. 

Armored  cruisers,  130;  defini- 
tion, 117. 

Armored    ships,    115. 

Army,  senior  service,  21. 

Articles  for  Government  of 
the  Navy,  30. 

Articles  of  War,  30. 

Artificers,  70. 

Asiatic  Fleet,  37;  composi- 
tion and  headquarters,  39. 

Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  22. 

Athletics,  95. 

Atlanta,  134. 


Atlantic   Fleet,   37;    composi- 
tion and  headquarters,  39. 
Auxiliary  vessels,  142. 

Bainbridge,  Captain,  10. 

Ballistics,    156. 

Baltimore,   134. 

Barbary  pirates,  4,  5,  7,  9,  10. 

Barbette  armor,  157. 

Battery,  main,  149;  sec- 
ondary, 149. 

Battle  practice,  99. 

Battleship,  definition,  116. 

Battleships  Nos.  36  and  37, 
130. 

Bennington,  138. 

Birmingham,    137. 

Blockade,  in  Civil  War,  12; 
prevented  by  submarines, 
122. 

Boats,  small,  ceremonies,  113. 

Boilers,  166. 

Bon  Homme  Richard,  2. 

Boston,  134. 

Boxer,   10,   141. 

Boxer  uprising,  19. 

British  seamen  captured,  3. 

Brooklyn,    131. 

Building  a  warship,  202. 

Bureaus  of  Navy  Depart- 
ment, 23,  24,  25,  26. 

Burial,  at  sea,  107;  on  shore, 
108. 

Byng,  Sir  John,  35. 

Cabin  mess,  87. 

Cable,    first   ocean   telegraph, 

18. 
"  Calibers,"    length    of    gun, 

156. 
California,  132. 


223 


INDEX 


Callao,  139. 
Captain,  duties,  57. 
Captain  of  the  Yard,  43. 
Castine,  138. 
Cementation,    160. 
Ceremonials  and  distinctions, 

104. 

Chaplains,    64. 
Charleston,  137. 
Chattanooga,  135. 
Cheers,  prohibited,  113. 
Chester,  137. 
Cheyenne,  133. 
Chicago,  134. 
Chief  Engineer,  86. 
Chief   Petty   Officers,   67,    69, 

88. 

Chiefs    of    Bureaus,    appoint- 
ment, 27;  duties  of,  23. 
Cincinnati,  134. 
Civil  Engineers,  63. 
Civil  War,  12. 
Classes  of  ships,  115. 
Clerical  Branch,  73. 
Clubhouses,  96. 
Coffer  dams,  158. 
Colliers,  143. 
Collingwood,       Vice-Admiral, 

90. 

Colorado,  132. 
"  Colors,"  107. 
Columbia,  135. 
Commandant  of  Navy  Yard, 

42. 

Commander,  duties  of,   57. 
Commander-in-Chief    of    fleet, 

89. 
Commanding  officer  of  a  ship, 

83. 

Commissary  branch,  72. 
Commissary,  ship's,  88. 
Commissioning  a  man-of-war, 

81. 

Complements,  83. 
Concord,   138. 
Connecticut,  127. 
Constellation,  5,  140,  146. 
Constitution,  5,  115,  140. 
Continental  Navy,  1,  2,  4. 


Cost  of  ammunition,  185. 
Countermining,  190. 
Courts-martial,  31. 
Corvettes,  115. 
Cruisers,  119. 
Cumberland,  141. 
Cushing,   146. 

Dead  Sea  exploration,,  16. 

Death,  sentence  by  court- 
martial,  33. 

Decatur,  10,  146. 

Deck  Courts,  31. 

Deck,   protective,    157. 

Deep  sea  sounding,  17. 

Defense,  national,  217. 

Delaware,  128. 

Denver,  135. 

Desertion,  34. 

Designing  a  warship,  203. 

Des  Moines,  135. 

Detroit,  134. 

Dewey,  Commodore,  15;  Ad- 
miral of  the  Navy,  38. 

Dimensions,  147. 

Displacement,  147. 

Distinguishing  marks  on  uni- 
form, 103. 

Divisions  of  Navy  Depart- 
ment, 30. 

"Dog  Watches,"  111. 

Don  Juan  de  Austria,  138. 

"Dotter,"  99. 

Draft,  148. 

Drills,  96. 

Dry  Docks,  212;  floating,  215; 
graving,  214. 

Dubuque,  138. 

Dunnite,  188. 

Elcano,  139. 
Electric  plant,  171. 
Emmensite,  188. 
Engineer's  force,  70. 
Engineer  officer,  86. 
Engineering  duties,  59. 
Engines,  162. 

Enlisted  men,  66;  pay,  73; 
rates,  68;  titles,  67. 


INDEX 


225 


Ensign,  duties,  58. 
Ensign,  national,  93. 
Enterprise,  140. 
Epervier,  10. 
Essex,  140. 
Executive  officer,  84. 

Farragut,       Admiral,       146; 

burial,  109. 
Fighting  tops,  177. 
Fire-control  officer,  84. 
First  lieutenant,  84. 
Flags,   91;    national,   92. 
Fleet  organization,  37,  89. 
Flogging,  35. 
Forced  draft,  168. 
Franklin,  140. 
Franklin,  relief,  16. 
Friendship,  brig,  11. 
Frigates,   115. 
Fuel,   168. 

Funeral  escort,  108. 
Fuses,  185. 

Galveston,  135. 

Gangway  of  ship,  112. 

General  Board,  28. 

General   Court-Martial,  32. 

General  Mess,  88. 

General  Quarters,  97. 

General  Storekeeper,  43. 

Georgia,  126. 

Gopher,  140. 

Granite  State,  140. 

Greely  relief,  16. 

Grog,    114. 

Guam,  administration  of,  21; 
capture  of,  16. 

Guerriere,  10. 

Gunboats,  115,  120,  137. 

Gun  cotton,  187. 

Gun,  rapid  fire,  156;  semi- 
automatic, 156;  smooth 
bore,  155;  wire  wound,  155. 

Hartford,  139. 

Helena,  138. 

High  explosives,  187. 

Honors  and  distinctions,  105. 


Hopkins,  Captain  Esek,  1. 
Horsepower,  166. 
Hospital  Corps,  71. 
Hospital  ships,  143. 
Hull,  145. 
Hydrographic  office,  48. 

Idaho,   127. 

Illinois,  126. 

Independence,   140. 

Indiana,  124. 

Intrepid,  141. 

Invasion    of    United    States, 

218. 

Iowa,  125. 
7s la  de  Cuba,  138. 
Isla  de  Luzon,  138. 

Jamestown,  141. 

Jarvis,   146. 

Jena,  explosion,  180. 

Jones,   John    Paul,    Captain. 

1,  2. 
Judge  Advocate-General,  28. 

Kansas,  127. 
Kearsarge,   125. 
Keel,  laying,  207. 
Kentucky,  125. 
Knot,  149. 

Lancaster,  140. 

Launching,  208. 

Length,  148. 

Lieutenant-Commander,  du- 
ties, 57. 

Lieutenant,  duties,  58. 

Lights,   signal,  93. 

Line  officers,  52;  duties,  56; 
promotion,  56. 

List  of  ships,  123. 

Louisiana,   127. 

Lyddite,  188. 

Macedonian,  10. 
Machias,  138. 
Maine,  126. 

Major-General  Commandant, 
74. 


MarWehead,  134. 

Marietta,  138. 

Marine   Corps,  74. 

Mc^ryland,  132. 

Massachusetts,  124. 

Mast,  cage,  178;  military, 
177. 

Maury,  Lieutenant,  17. 

Medical  Corps,  59. 

Messmen  branch,  72. 

Mexican  War,  11. 

Miantonomoh,  133. 

Michigan,  128. 

Midshipmen,  86;  at  Annap- 
olis, 53;  at  sea,  55;  duties, 
59. 

Milwaukee,  137. 

Mines,  submarine,  188. 

Minneapolis,  135. 

Minnesota,  127. 

Mississippi,  127. 

Missouri,  126. 

Model  Basin,  203. 

Mohican,  140. 

Monadnock,  133. 

Monaghan,  146. 

Monitors,  14,  118;  list,  133. 

Monroe  doctrine,  220. 

Montana,    132. 

Monterey,  133. 

Montgomery,  134. 

Morris  tube,  99. 

Mourning  badge,  102. 

Musicians,  72. 

Mutiny,  36. 

Naming  naval  vessels,  144. 
Nashville,  138. 
National  defense,  217. 
Nautical  Almanac,  47. 
Naval  Academy,  53,  54. 
Naval  coal  depots,  47. 
Naval  Constructors,  61. 
Naval  Hospitals,  48. 
Naval  Militia,  77. 
Naval  Observatory,  46. 
Naval  powder  depots,  48. 
Naval  prisons,  36. 


Naval  Proving  Grounds,  47, 
180. 

Naval  tactics,  38. 

Naval  Torpedo  Station,  47. 

Naval  Training  Stations,  47. 

Navigator,  85. 

Navy  Department,  building, 
22;  duties,  20. 

Navy  Regulations,  30. 

Navy  Yards,  administration, 
42;  board  on  wages,  44; 
list  of,  40. 

Nebraska,  126. 

Nelson,  Admiral,  90,   110. 

Nero,  deep  sea  sounding,  17. 

Newark,  134. 

New  Hampshire,   127. 

New  Jersey,  126. 

New  Orleans,  136. 

Newport,  138. 

New  York;  battle  ship,  129; 
cruiser,  131;  name,  145. 

Niagara,  18. 

Nicaragua  Canal  route  sur- 
vey, 18. 

Nipsic,   140. 

Nitro-glycerine,  187. 

North  Carolina,  132. 

North  Dakota,  128. 

Oath  of  allegiance,  52. 
Office    of    Naval    Intelligence, 

29. 

Officer  of  the  deck,  86. 
Officers  of  Navy,  50. 
Ohio,  126. 
Olympia,  135. 
Ordnance  officer,  85. 
Oregon,  124. 
Ozark,  133. 

Pacific   Fleet,   37,   39. 
Paducah,  138. 
Pampanga,  139. 
Panama  Canal  Survey,  18. 
Panay,  139. 
Paymasters,  60,  87. 
Pennsylvania,  132. 


INDEX 


227 


Pensacola,  140. 

Perry  expedition,  16. 

Petrel,  138. 

Petty  officers,  68. 

Philip,  Captain,  124. 

Philippines,  Capture  of,  15. 

Picric  acid,  188. 

Piracy  in  the  West  Indies, 
11. 

Porter,  146. 

Porto  Rico,  Capture  of,  16. 

Portsmouth,  140. 

Potomac,  frigate,  11. 

Powder,  brown,  179;  smoke- 
less, 180. 

President,  honors,  105. 

Princeton,  138. 

Privateers,  2. 

Professors  of  Mathematics, 
63. 

Projectiles,  181. 

Protected  cruisers,  133. 

Protective  deck,  157. 

Punishment,  31. 

Puritan,  133. 

Qualla  Battoo,   11. 

Ram,  172. 

Ranger,  140. 

Rank,  51. 

Rank    marks,    101. 

Rating  badges,  103. 

Rear- Admiral,      duties,      57; 

flag,  93. 

Record  target  practice,  99. 
Redoubtable,  177. 
Retirement,  76. 
Rhode  Island,   126. 
Richmond,  140. 
Rifles,  breech-loading,  155. 
Rockets,  signal,  91,  93. 
Rodgers,  146. 
Routine,  ship,  94. 

St.  Louis,  137. 
Salem,   137. 
Samar,  139. 


Sampson,  Rear-Admiral,  15. 

Sandovul,  139. 

San  Francisco,  134. 

San  Marcos,  123. 

Saratoga,  131. 

Scotch  boiler,  167. 

Scout  cruisers,  119. 

Seaman-gunners,  70. 

Seamen,  69. 

Searchlights,  179. 

Secretary,  64. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy,  20. 

Senior  officer's  flag,  93. 

Serapis,  2. 

Severn,  141. 

"  Shaking  down  "  cruise,  82. 

Ship's  bottom  paint,  213. 

Ship  control  officer,  85. 

Ship  routine,  94. 

Sick  quarters,  96. 

Side  boys,  107. 

Signal  men,  94. 

Signals  and  flags,  91. 

Slave  trade,  suppression,  11. 

Sloops-of-war,  115. 

Solicitor,  duties,  28. 

South  Carolina,  128. 

South  Dakota,  132. 

Spanish  War,  15. 

Specialty  marks,  103. 

Speed,  149. 

Speed  trial,  209. 

Spencer,  Midshipman,  36. 

Spotters,  98,  100. 

Squadrons,  89. 

Staff  corps  devices,  102. 

Staff  of  Commander-in-Chief, 

90. 

Staff  officers,  51,  87. 
Steerage,  88. 
Stoddert,  Benjamin,  21. 
Submarines,   121. 
Submarine  mines,  188. 
Surgeons,  59,  87. 
Sword,   102. 

Tacoma,  135. 
Tactics,  naval,  38. 
Tallahassee,  133. 


228 


INDEX 


Target  practice,  98. 

Tennessee,  132. 

Terror,  133. 

Texas,    old,    123;    new,    129; 

name,  145. 

Titles  of  staff  officers,  51. 
Tonopah,  133. 
Torpedoes,    191;     automobile, 

192;  spar,  191;  protection, 

196. 
Torpedo  craft,  120,  121,  141; 

fleets,  40. 

Trafalgar,  battle,  90. 
Transports,  143. 
Triple  screws,   165. 
Trophies,  target  practice,  99. 
Turbine  engines,  163. 
Turrets,  150. 
Turret  armor,  157. 
Tutuila,  administration,  21. 
Twin  screws,  164. 

Unarmored  ships,  115. 
Under-water  body,  159. 
Uniform,   100,  103. 
Union-jack,  93. 

Vengeance,  146. 

Vermont,  127. 

Very  night  signals,  93. 


Vice- Admiral,  grade,  37. 
Vicksburg,  138. 
Victory,   115,    177. 
Villalobos,  139. 
Virginia,  126. 

Wabash,  140. 

Wardroom,  87. 

Warrant     officers,      64,     65; 

mess,  88. 
Washington,  132. 
Watch    and    division    officers, 

86. 

Watch  bell,  111. 
Watch  mark,  104. 
Water-tight  subdivision,  173. 
Water-tube  boilers,  167. 
Webster- As hburton  treaty,  11. 
West  Virginia,  132. 
Wheeling,  138. 
Wilmington,  138. 
"Winker"  light,  93. 
Wireless    telegraphy,    48,    91, 

174. 

Wisconsin,  126. 
Wolverine,  140. 
Wyoming,  129. 

Yantio,  140. 
Torktown,  138. 


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